


Haikyuu!! - Hogwarts Drabbles

by Ereana



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Confessions, Crushes, Drabble Collection, First Kiss, Growing Up, Hogwarts Express, Holding Hands, Injury, Jealousy, M/M, Quidditch, Sorting Ceremony, Thestrals, Trapped In A Closet, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 03:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 77,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1883829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ereana/pseuds/Ereana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble collection of various Haikyuu pairings set in Hogwarts. Will giving these idiots access to magic help their relationship issues? Probably not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kurodai - Broom Cupboard

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Семь лет дружбы и волшебства](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10797423) by [MsFlaffy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFlaffy/pseuds/MsFlaffy)



> I'm so sorry about this! I accidentally messed up while doing some editing and deleted it so now I've got to post the whole thing over again. Don;t worry I've got a list of requests that I need to do so that's not been lost.

How in Merlin’s name had he wound up in this situation?

 

Was it life‘s way of punishing him for yelling at Asashi yesterday for terrifying the first years? Perhaps it was simply his turn to be karma’s kicking bag and next week Koushi would find himself trapped in the greenhouses with Kageyama and Hinata during one of their regular arguments over who caused the Mimbulus Mimbletonia to cover them in Stinksap. The Gryffindor-Slytherin duo were notorious for their constant squabbling but mess with one and the other would have you hexed six way to Sunday before you cast a shield charm; and he was getting off topic.

 

But could anyone blame him? He’d much rather contemplate the numerous uses of flobberworm fat in potions than think about his current situation; trapped in a broom cupboard on a rarely used corridor on the second floor with fellow fifth year and general pain-in-the-ass Kuroo Tetsurou.

 

Said pain-in-the-ass was currently grinning across from him in a particularly aggravating way, which was saying something considering that Daichi usually found anything Kuroo did irritating on a regular basis. In response he shot him an unamused glare and continued to grope around him for his wand which had somehow fallen out of his hand during the events which had led them to being trapped in said cupboard.

 

It only had the effect of turning the bastard’ grin into a smirk, the smirk which Kuroo seemed to have coined as his own; slow, lopsided and so full of smugness that it made Daichi want to hit him every time he saw it, which was unfortunately fairly frequently.

 

“Now, now Sawamura glaring is not going to get us out of this. Besides, if I hadn’t dragged us in here Peeves would have made a wreck of those nice new robes of yours. You should be thanking me.”

 

Daichi really wanted to punch him, but his hands were still searching for his wand. Damn it how hard was it to find what was essentially a stick in a closed cupboard, apparently very. Instead he settled for growling out a reply.

 

“The only reason I ran into Peeves was because you’d pissed him off and decided to run towards me with him throwing stink-bombs at you. Anyway, my ‘nice new robes’ are going to get dirty anyway or did you miss the part where he locked us in a cupboard that hasn’t been used for about ten years and is about 50% dust and spider webs.”

 

“If you’re really that concerned about your appearance just cast a Scourgify.”

 

“You were the one who implied that I was concerned not me! And even if I wanted to I’ve dropped my wand somewhere in here.” Still no luck and he didn’t want to risk reaching towards Kuroo’s side of the cupboard because he could just imagine the snarky comment that would follow. He was a prefect and it would be humiliating to get a detention for attacking and/or cursing another student. Though with Kuroo he never really wanted to use magic, he simply wanted to either hit him or hurl something at him the good old-fashioned muggle way.

 

The guy cocked his head to the side and somehow that smirk of his got even more condescending. “Seriously, you dropped your wand after I gave you a little shove?”

 

“You practically threw yourself on me to get me in here and I wasn’t expecting it. Of course I was going to be surprised.” Despite his words he could feel his ears burn with embarrassment. He was a Hufflepuff prefect and had known Kuroo since first year, he should have been less surprised by the bastard’s actions but after all these years Kuroo’s train of thought still eluded him. It was too dark for his red ears to be seen but he didn’t doubt that they’d somehow be noticed; Kuroo always seemed to notice the things that Daichi most wanted to keep hidden, stupid Slytherin.

 

“And you can’t find it either, in a small cupboard?”

 

Could the guy get any more annoying?

 

“I thought you Puffs were meant to be very good finders.”

 

Yes he could. He scowled and sat up a little straighter, as straight as he could get at least, and he spoke with the tone that usually could quiet even the most rambunctious fourth years.

 

“That’s a stupid stereotype. Why don’t you just unlock the bloody door and we can get to class? I don’t want to be late Kuroo.” The second the name left his mouth he regretted it because the snake, though to Daichi he’d always resembled a cat more, leaned forward a bit and everything about him seemed to get sharper somehow. The fairly relaxed aura around him was gone and there was some sort of intent in his eyes that Daichi couldn’t read. Tension seemed to have sprung up between them and he wasn’t sure where from. It had been happening more and more often lately, their frequent arguments suddenly shifting into something different.

 

That shiver down his spine was definitely worry, nothing else, he was obviously planning something which meant bad news for anyone but himself. It was only worry.

 

“Maybe I don’t want to unlock the door. Maybe I’m perfectly comfortable right where I am.” Was there a slight purr to his voice? Shaking the question from his head his face took on a perplexed scowl.

 

“You-re over 6 ft tall with absurdly long legs, I’m 5’9 and I can already feel muscles beginning to cramp. How the hell can you be comfortable?”

 

Kuroo huffed out a laugh but thankfully leaned back again.

 

“You really are clueless about some things aren’t you?” Ok this was back on familiar territory and the frown hardened back into the typical dealing-with-the-annoying-occasionally-a-decent-guy-always-weird-bastard glare.

 

“Unlock the door. I don’t want to be late for Transfiguration because you were being an idiot.”

 

“I’m not the one who dropped my wand.” Daichi felt a muscle in his forehead twitch and Kuroo waved his hand in a supposedly placating manner and glanced at the doors. “Fine, I’ll open the door. Peeves isn’t strong enough to do something that Alohomora won’t open.” He turned to Daichi with a crooked grin on his face and moved just a little bit closer. Too close in Daichi’s opinion. “Say please.”

 

“Hell no.”

 

“C’mon, it’s just one word and then we’re both free.”

 

“No way, I’d rather eat Hippogriff dung. Open the door.”

 

“I ‘ll feel too unmotivated if you don’t say it.”

 

“You’ll be late for class too, another one and you’ll have four weeks detention.”

 

“I have a free period next.” This was said with the trademark smirk in full display. Pleasure just rolling off him the bastard leisurely twirled his wand in his hand, you could see the little voice in his head cheering ‘I’ve won! I’ve won.’

 

Suddenly feeling tired and wanting to just get out of the stupid cupboard he rubbed his forehead.

 

“Fine. Will you ple-”

 

“Can you look at me when you say it; I want to remember this moment for a long time.” Biting back a growl he took a deep breath and raised his head meeting his tormenters amused eyes straight on and said in his most polite tone.

 

“Kuroo, will you please open the door before I decide to strangle you with my bare hands.” Kuroo actually snorted and an unwilling grin started to tug at Daichi’s mouth but he quickly stopped it.

 

“I think I’ve heard more sincere apologies from a basilisk than that but it’ll have to do.” With a quick flick of his wand the doors, finally sprung open. Daichi was not so relieved that he could suppress the flare of reluctant admiration for the bit of wordless magic, never mind that it was a first year charm it was difficult. Kuroo was skilled and studied hard despite his usually lazy demeanour, he also made sure all his friends and underclassmen worked just as hard or there would be hell to pay.

 

He let go a sigh as he moved his cramped legs out of the small space, they really had been starting to hurt, and hopped out of the cupboard not sorry to leave. Kuroo sort of slid out, all feline grace and elegance. It always made Daichi feel clumsy about him, especially when they were occasionally paired up in potions and those long fingers would move effortlessly from cutting, to mixing, to crushing. Kuroo always unbalanced the usually steady Hufflepuff no matter wha-

 

“Shouldn’t you be off to class, Mr. Prefect?” Like now. The burning of his ears was becoming a common circumstance around the fifth year lately and he didn’t appreciate the new development.

 

“I’m going.” He snapped and made a move to walk off, and he would have if his damnable conscience hadn’t reared its ugly head. With the look of a man about to eat Doxy venom he met Kuroo’s eyes again, eyes which never seemed to stray from his face so as to capture all the embarrassment written on it he thought.

 

“Thanls.” He wasn’t even completely sure why he was thanking him; Kuroo was the reason he had gotten stuck in there in the first place. Was it his imagination or had that smirk actually turned into a smile for a moment. No, impossible, Kuroo did not smile. He grinned, smirked, chuckled, sneered, occasionally frowned or glared but he did not smile.

 

The taller teen stepped closer, crowding into Daichi’s space and he willed himself not to move backwards; he’d already lost one battle today, he refused to lose another.

 

Closer. Closer. How close was he going to get!? Surely this was way past what was necessary right? Not according to the jerk. WHO WAS STILL GETTING NEARER! He stopped a scant distance away from Daichi’s face, his height giving him an unwelcome advantage and that weirdly intense look was back in his eyes. Eyes that seemed to be scanning his face for something with that rare serious look that sometimes crossed the other’s face. Eyes that just for a moment darted to his mouth and for a moment the hysterical thought occurred to Daichi that maybe Kuroo was going to-

 

Their eye contact was broken as Kuroo suddenly swerved to the left and whispered right in his ear.

 

“You’re welcome Sawamura.”

 

Way, way too near for anyone’s comfort. His mouth was practically brushing the tip of his burning ear and the words came out low and quiet despite them being completely alone. Warm air tickled his skin and his body felt strangely warmer than it had done in that stuffy broom cupboard. It was unsettling, unnerving, terrifying and in no way a little bit thrilling. Daichi wanted to freak the hell out but he’d apparently succeeded in turning his body to stone.

 

Kuroo moved away, he remained still; unsure what breaking his paralysis would mean. As he felt a body brush by him in a fast walk he felt something be placed in his hand but he refused to look at what it was. It was only when he heard the footsteps turn a corner that he looked at what Kuroo had given him.

 

It was a chocolate frog, his favourite sweet, and his wand.

 

He was going to kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first attempt at writing both for HQ! and a m/m pairing but I love these two together I think their dynamic is great. I have various ideas at the moment but if their is a couple or a situation that you want me to write please let me know either in the comments below or via my tumblr page where I'm what-fire-is-in-mine-ears and tell me there. Please don't ask for lemons because I am terrible at writing them and won't put you through reading it. Hope you enjoy.


	2. Iwaoi - Sorting

When Iwaizumi had imagined his first night at Hogwarts this had not been how he had pictured it. As a half-blood he’d been raised largely in the muggle world of his father but he’d treasured his mother’s stories of magic, wonder, and a castle that would stun even the worldliest person. This was meant to be one of the best days of his life, his first step on the path to becoming a wizard, no more hiding from other children in case he accidentally turned them bald when he got angry, it was meant to be different.

 

Instead he found himself once again searching for his moronic brat of a friend and breaking the rules on his very first day. When he found him Oikawa was going to be in for a world of hurt. It didn’t matter that he already knew way more spells than Iwaizumi, it would be difficult to say any of the words with a fist in his mouth.

 

The moon cast long shadows on the corridor floor and hid feet slowed to a stop as he looked out one of the windows. The huge lake stretched out in front of him, completely flat and a perfect mirror of the night sky. There wasn’t a single sound, but he fancied he could feel something in the air. Some unfathomable, unnameable thing that crackled without noise, that flared without colour, that danced without movement it was a feeling that he’d always felt for as long as he could remember. Only here, amongst these new and daunting stone walls it was a lot stronger than he was used to; it seemed to saturate every space and object. The more poetic side of him, one that admittedly did not appear very often, wanted to call it magic and he felt the tension in his shoulders drop as whatever it was seemed to swirl around him in a protective cocoon.

 

Seriously, where was that idiot? He’d definitely seen him walk down here. Well walk may have been the wrong word; Oikawa had been running as fast as he’d ever seen him. Shrugging off the feeling of being enclosed he took a long look down the empty corridor. Was he really that upset about what had happened?

 

**Earlier that day**

 

“Iwa-chan, can you believe we’re actually here? Well of course I’d be here but we didn’t know if you were strong enough to come until re-” The eleven year old was suddenly cut off by an impressively strong fist from his friend who looked completely unrepentant and more than a little ignored.

 

“Shut up moron. As long as you’ve got magical power you get a letter, it’s only Squibs who don’t get invited. You’re the pure-blood here surely you should know that.” He pulled his fist out of Oikawa’s stomach and listened with one ear to a trail of word babble about him being a ‘meanie’ and ‘of course I knew I was just testing you’ while he examined their much more interesting surroundings.

 

They were waiting outside what must be the Great Hall if he remembered the stories right; the huge set of doors loomed over him and the rest of the first years like a glaring colossus, daring any of them to run off or misbehave. Not like he would, he’d been waiting most of his life to come here and he wasn’t going to mess up his chances now.

 

He refused to acknowledge the increasing ball of nervousness growing in his stomach at Oikawa’s words; there was something else that had to be done before they were official students but his mother had been frustratingly vague at what it was. Would he have to cast a spell? Force some accidental magic? Was there a magic tester that ranked your power and that decided what happened? He knew he wasn’t as strong as Oikawa, the genius who had been casting the levitation charm since he was about nine whenever he wanted to show off, but he didn’t think he was weak.

 

But what if he was?

 

A hand was suddenly clamped down on his shoulder and he automatically scowled at the perpetrator. Sadly, his neighbour was far too used to his glares to be that much affected.

 

“Donâ’t make such a scary face Iwa-chan otherwise you won’t make any friends. You should smile more, like me!” He let out a scoff and completed it with a classic eye-roll.

 

“I don’t want to be anything like you; one of you is already bothersome enough.”  This was answered with a serious nod, as if Oikawa was about to impart some valuable wisdom.

 

“Very true, there is only room for one of me in this world. How would my fans be able to cope if they had to choose between two?”

 

“You don’t have any fans moron!”

 

“I will do, give me a year and I’ll have a whole crowd around me.” The sad thing was he was probably right. Oikawa, despite his frankly terrible personality was an expert at showing people what they wanted to see, even his parents were fooled. The boy could charm his way out of any bad situation he found himself him and it was obvious that he was going to be handsome when he grew up. Rich, good-looking, intelligent and a magical prodigy everyone just seemed to admire him and let him have his way unchallenged. Everyone except Iwaizumi.

 

He had been three years old and playing with a ball, just throwing it about and at things when the boy form next door had run up to him and demanded to play saying that he was bored. Iwaizumi had said no, it was a one person game, even then that stupid smile had annoyed him and the way the other had just commanded him made him mad. The other had look stunned for a second before preceding to do everything in his power to get Iwaizumi to play with him; pleading, whining, compromising, promising things, yelling, bribing at one point he’d attempted to cry but Iwaizumi had just walked off so he’d stopped and grabbed his arm. It ended with Oikawa glaring at him, telling him he was mean before running back to his house.

 

He’d come again the next day and asked if he could join him, looking very sulky but also a little bit intrigued. Iwaizumi had nodded and when the other had grinned heâ€™d chucked the ball at his head. They’d been friends ever since and he was still the only one who could tell Oikawa no, still the only one who wasn’t fooled by that idiotic smile.

 

The memory was broken off by the creaking of doors opening and they both turned to see the hall spread out before them.

 

It was beautiful.

 

Before he could take a second to fully process the view he was suddenly being pushed forward. A glance backward showed it was that loud, smiling guy who had run down the train chasing his escaped owl Bokua or something like that. The boy met his incredulous look with a wide grin.

 

“It’s awesome isn’t it?” He sounded so sincere that Iwaizumi felt a little of his earlier anticipation return and he managed a smile.

 

“Yeah.” The floating candles, the spelled ceiling (Yes, alright he’d read Hogwarts: A History before coming here) and the four long tables full of other students watching them, most with smiles on their faces.

 

A familiar hand grabbed his and yanked him further forward and he turned to see Oikawa glaring at the boy who had pushed him. He wanted to scold him but the entire school was looking at them so instead he focused on putting one foot in front of the other. They soon reached the end of the hall and their group hushed under the gaze of the teachers at the front table. It was an imposing group.

 

As the headmaster rose to give a welcoming speech Iwaizumi felt a mix of panic and joy in his belly. A thousand what ifs flew through his mind at the same time and he could feel his lunch from the train move up his throat. He would not throw up in the Great Hall. He would not throw up in the Great Hall. He would not throw up in the Great Hall even if he had to choke on his vomit! Vaguely he heard someone singing. Who was singing at a time like this? If he threw up here he’d surely be banned and then he’d have to be sent home and see the disappointment on his mother’s face and the relief on his father’s carefully hidden behind a mask of sympathy. He’d been able to see under masks like that for most of his life. He didn’t want to go back to his house, to his school were no-one understood him or avoided him because he made strange things happen. Things that he just could not control despite all his efforts, things that caused him to be feared. The only ones who didn’t fear him where his mother and Oikawa. And Oikawa wouldn’t be there this time, he wouldn’t screw up, he’d be in Hogwarts far away from Iwaizumi, Iwaizumi who would have no-one his own age who got him, who accepted him, who liked him.

 

He’d be alone.

 

The hand holding his tightened and he glanced at his friend before his eyes widened a little. While everyone else was watching the headmaster he found his gaze transfixed by Oikawa because he was actually smiling for real. It was a lot smaller and less bright than his usual one but it was so much warmer. It didn’t light up his entire face because the jerk’s face was already bright enough but is did male him seem like less of a genius, less closed off. The warmth from this smile sunk into his bones and hung on his shoulders like a blanket whereas the other just made him feel cold and angry. Iwaizumi knew that his annoying, stupid, smug, faking, toe-rag of a friend understood and that was enough to soothe the storm of emotions threatening to break out in his chest.

 

He must have been more nervous than he thought because the next thing he was aware of names were being called out. He snapped back to reality just in time to hear:

 

“Bokuto Koutaro.” And the owl boy who had pushed him seemed to leap out of the small group. If anything his grin had gotten even wider and he was practically radiating joy or excitement. He leapt onto a stool that had appeared at the front and a rather dog-eared looking hat was lowered onto his head.

 

Which then began to make noise.

 

The worn out piece of fabric, it looked ancient, began to hmm and sigh and even wriggle about. The boy, Bokuto, was still grinning contently, his feet swinging on the stool without a care in the world. After about thirty seconds the hat’s brim split open to form a mouth and spoke out to the waiting hall:

 

“GRYFFINDOR.” With a happy yelp the excitable boy jumped off the stool, and ran towards his new table. The hat would have gone with him had the teacher not grabbed hold of the tip as he’d jumped down.

 

It was ridiculous the size of the tsunami wave of relief which crashed over him. A hat. They had to put on a hat. That was it. That was all he had to do.

 

“Silly, Iwa-chan.” Came a whispered voice next to him and while people were still clapping about the new Gryffindor he unrepentantly stomped on Oikawa’s foot. Luckily the shout of pain and confusion was muffled by the still-cheering Gryffindor table. They looked like a rowdy lot.

 

So it went on. Gryffindor. Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw. Slytherin. Each table reacted slightly differently than the last but all seemed to share some joy in the influx of new housemates. Finally.

 

“Iwaizumi Hajime.” With only slightly sweaty palms and a final nudge from a grinning Oikawa he stepped towards the stool, which seemed significantly larger than before. He was barely aware of anything else as he sat down and the last thing he saw before the hat dipped and covered his eyes was the silently encouraging gaze of his best friend.

 

“My my, you are a clever one aren’t you.” If he hadn’t been so concerned about making a scene he would have jumped out of his skin. It spoke in his head too?

 

“Not paying attention to my song eh? That was a bit rude.” He thought back a sorry. “Though there is some politeness in you, much more than your friend it would seem.”

 

At the mention of Oikawa a hundred memories all crammed to the forefront of his mind and he felt a jolt of anger as he felt the hat look at them. No, those are private go away. I don’t want you there.

 

“Ha, with a will like that when you’re older you just might.” What? “Ok to business, let’s see; incredibly loyal and a cool head despite a short fused temper. You want to learn though. Oh yes you do. There’s a hunger here, a drive to know, to examine, to see the world you’ve only ever been on the edges of. With a mind as eager as that it has to be-”

 

“RAVENCLAW.”

 

He felt the hat being lifted off his head and lowered himself onto the floor. A clapping noise made its way to his ears and he quickly walked/stumbled his way to the Ravenclaw table. His new housemates smiled and quickly shifted apart so that he could sit down and for a few moments he let himself bask in relief.

 

He was here to stay. He was a Ravenclaw student. He belonged in this world. The area around him seemed to blur as he struggled to fill his lungs with enough air at the same time as fighting off tears. Sometimes people can be unaware of the magnitude of their fear until it has passed and he was feeling the sheer intensity of his terror that he would be sent home, feeling it but also letting it go. Once again he found himself zoning out a little until.

 

“Oikawa Tooru.”

 

It was a little surreal watching from so far away and he leaned forward, as if the hat’s loud (obnoxious) voice wouldn’t reach him. This session was one of the shortest so far; five seconds at most. Iwaizumi had just enough time to see his friend’s face fall when the hat called out-

 

“SLYTHERIN.” The house began to applaud their newest member, he felt his own hands move to clap for him, but all he could see was the colour draining from Oikawa’s face behind a pasted on smile.

 

**Present**

 

He’d been on his way back from the owlery, to check on his new bird Karyuudo, who had been a gift from his mother when he had spotted Oikawa walking towards him down the corridor. He’d called out to him but the dumbass had turned and run in the opposite direction and he like a moron had chased after him.

 

So here he was. Curfew had passed during his search. He’d broken a rule in less than 24 hours and he still couldn’t find Oikawa anywhere. Thoroughly annoyed he was about to turn and leave when he saw a small cut of black fabric peeking out from behind one of the columns. With a victorious grin on his face he moved as slowly as possible, trying to minimize the amount of sound from his feet as much as he could, and made his way along the stone floor.

 

When he was a metre from it he lunged forward and swung himself round, coming face to face with the petulant face of the boy he’d been searching for. The petulant look only served to turn his irritation into rage and he brought his fist down onto brown hair.

 

“You utter dumbass! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been trying to find you? We’re both going to get detention on the first night because of you!” The petulant look turned into an annoyed frown and when Oikawa spoke it came out in a hiss.

 

“Nobody asked you to chase after me.” Feeling the flames of his anger only burning stronger he moved forward ensuring that there was no escape route possible.

 

“I wouldn’t have had to chase you, idiot, if you had just answered back instead of running away from me like I was the bloody Lord of Darkness!”

 

“That still didnâ’t mean you should have chased after me. You should have gone back to your new house Iwaizumi.” There was an ugly sneer with those last few words and Iwaizumi’s temper snapped. He clenched Oikawa’s collar with his fist and pressed him against the wall.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you? We’re in Hogwarts; we’ve been waiting years to come here. Why are you acting like this?!” The last part came out in something close to a plea and close to a yell. Silence fell after it and they just stared at each other. Both angry, both upset, one confused and the other desperate.

 

Staring into his best friends eyes Iwaizumi desperately searched for a reason. Oikawa never avoided him, he always went out of his way to annoy him, was always calling him by that stupid nickname, and was always with him. The eyes glaring back at him seemed alien to him. The boy pressed against the wall was angry, hurt and at this moment didn’t seem much like his friend at all.

 

“What did I do?” The anger had gone, only confusion and a little sliver of hurt remained. It did nothing to placate the other who stood a little straighter, glared a little harder.

 

“You didn’t even look at me. You just walked right past me to your new table and you looked so stupidly happy and relieved. And then I got put in a different house and you clapped! You didn’t care that we’re no-” He bit his lip to stop the rest of the sentence but Iwaizumi had known Oikawa for years and could practically see the other words.

 

You didn’t care that we’re not in the same house. That we’re not going to be together.

 

He stared at his friend, disbelief no doubt shining in his eyes. So it was about this morning. Suddenly furious he pulled Oikawa forward again and snarled.

 

"Idiot! Moron! Dumbass! Stupid! Senseless! We’re still friends you fool!” The way Oikawa’s eyes widened did nothing to cool the inferno raging down his bloodstream.

 

“W-We are?” Neither did the slight stutter.

 

“Yes. We are. You’re going to be completely ridiculous, stupid and amazing as always and I‘m going to be the one who regularly stomps on your ego, who drags you out of the library after you work too hard, who hits you for being a showy buffoon and who isn’t scared to say no to you. Im still going to be here Oikawa. House or no house.”

 

The anger had drained out of the boy he was holding but Iwaizumi’s was still burning strong. How could he think that? How could he believe for one second that he would leave him? They came as a pair, had done for the past eight years. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t hurt by the idea that Oikawa had doubted him; it wasn’t just indignation that was fuelling his rage.

 

“I’m sorry Iwa-chan.” He glared at the face in front of him. Staring into those eyes, daring them to show one hint of doubt, of dishonesty about the apology. If Oikawa lied to him now he wasn’t sure what would happen.

 

He wasn’t lying.

 

They weren’t done talking about this but he relaxed his grip and stepped back.

 

“You dumbass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This went on for a lot longer than I'd thought. Hope I did these two some justice as their relationship is one of my favourite.


	3. Kagehina - Detention

Hinata took one look at his boyfriend’s face and gulped.

 

"Somehow I don't think that look in your eyes means you're happy to see me. I'm about to be throttled, aren't I?" The face remained unamused, if anything the aura of darkness surrounding Kageyama seemed to grow and swell so that it moved around him in a cloak of grumpiness.

 

Was there a spell that could do that? He’d have to ask in Charms tomorrow. Maybe you could make cloaks of different emotions because a cloak of happiness sounded awesome! With one touch you could make the professors laugh and brush off the tenth piece of late homework that term. Bullies would pat you on the back instead of pushing you in the mud. A certain Slytherin boyfriend wouldn’t be in such a bad mood all the freaking time. Seriously, would it kill him to smile just a little more? Actually it just might, Kageyama seemed to run 90% on frowns if Hinata’s cloak of happiness touched him and he started to smile would he die? Plus a smiling Kageyama was one of the most terrifying things in the world, and once he’d seen Daichi-san get so pissed off at that other Slytherin guy who followed him everywhere that - well it didn’t bare thinking about. Why the guy still followed him after that particular barrage of curses was a complete mystery. Anyway he was getting off topic; a smiling Kageyama was just plain freaky, except sometimes when they were alone and miraculously not arguing. That smile was one of Hinata’s favourite sights in the whole universe and-

 

Ok why was Kageyama walking away from him?

 

“Hey, stop! Stop! Where are you going?” The straight back in front of him was screaming ‘don’t talk to me right now’ but he’d never paid attention to things like that and he sprinted in front of Kageyama a determined look on his face. His boyfriend/best friend/stupid frowny faced rival stopped and glared back.

 

Now Hinata was not the smartest wizard in Hogwarts, some would even say he was in contention for the dumbest wizard alongside Kageyama, but if there was thing that he was an expert in it was his boyfriend. He knew every face that Kageyama had; there was no-one better than him at deciphering what the seeker prodigy words really meant, how he subtly conveyed his true emotions, the Kageyama beneath the cold mask of a Quidditch star. Right now behind the anger was a great deal of sulkiness, well-concealed hurt and the tiniest shred of worry.

 

“What’s wrong?” Of course this wouldn’t be replied to in a normal way. Kageyama was a hell of a lot better at showing his emotions but when upset he tended to revert back to an icy slab.

 

“Nothing’s wrong idiot. I’ve got practice to go to.” The attempt to brush past Hinata was rendered useless by the smaller boy’s quick reflexes who stepped wherever he was planning to move, each step accompanied by a word spoken in a stern tone. Well, as stern a tone as the hyperactive living ball of sunshine could manage.

 

“You’re. Lying. You. Don’t. Have. Practice. Or. You. Wouldn’t. Have. Planned. To. Meet. Up. This. Afternoon.” At the final word Kageyama stopped and gave a blistering glare at Hinata.

 

“So you did remember after all.”

 

“What do you mean remember? I never forgot you jerk!â€

 

“Then why did you land yourself in detention on one of the few days when we both have free time?”  Kageyama’s voice had been steadily rising and the few students still in the hall had scattered. Everyone knew not to get caught in the middle of one of the infamous and frequent arguments that the volatile couple would have.

 

Hinata flushed, aware that for this at least he was in the wrong. They were constantly caught in the mix of homework, Quidditch practice, and end of year exams were fast approaching. He had to keep an eye on Natsu and Kageyama had his familial duties which could take up a lot of his time. They could see each other at the Karasuno group meetings but they didn’t get any time for just them. So he could admit that Kageyama had some right to be angry, though he was taking it a bit too far.

 

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t think we’d get in this much trouble. But Inuoka and Lev really wanted to show me this new spell, the Banishing Charm I think, and how were we supposed to know that Ukai-san had just finished completely re-organizing the Quidditch storage room? Really we didn’t break too much and some of those first-year brooms needed to be thrown out anyway, and OK maybe accidentally releasing two bludgers was a big mistake but I’m sure that window can be replaced in no time.”

 

So busy attempting to justify his actions Hinata had completely missed Kageyama’s reaction to his two housemates names. The taller boy had clenched his teeth together and the air around him seemed to simmer with the force of his displeasure. He knew in the back of his mind that he was being ridiculous, and clingy, and possessive but that’s just the sort of person he was and those two always seemed to be around his boyfriend. It wasn’t fair when sometimes he could only see him for an hour of private time a week. He would never wish himself in Gryffindor for a position on England’s World Cup team and Hinata would not last a second in Slytherin but it was frustrating being in the two houses which were so separate and antagonistic towards one another. Realistically he knew that Inuoka Sou and Habia Lev were not trying to take Hinata away from him but there was this niggling, annoying hiss in his head which said that maybe they were; maybe they didn’t like the golden boy of their year hanging out with a Slytherin who still had trouble telling his own teammates good job.

 

It pissed him off and he hated it.

 

“You still should have known better, now we hardly have any time left.”

 

“Look, I really am sorry but wasting what little time we still have to spend together by storming off in a tantrum isn’t going to help anything.”

 

“I’m not having a ‘tantrum’dumbass! And if I were it would be because you promised we could spend this afternoon together, instead I get to hear from Suga-san that you have to spend the better part of it cleaning potion vials. Of course I was going to be angry! If you hadn’t listened to those two idiots-”

 

“Hey! Lev and Inuoka are my friends; they didn’t mean to get me in trouble. They just-”

 

“They tried to cast a Banishing Charm near Quidditch equipment, a sport which contains three moving balls and expensive gear. I have every right to call the idiots!”

 

“I don’t think the guy who had to retake his third-year Transfiguration exam because he managed to blow up his goblet has any right to call anyone an idiot! Why are you always so rude to them? What have they done to piss you off this much?!”

 

“They keep taking you away from me!” Near silence fell at this last heated, desperate, exclamation the only thing that could be heard was Kageyama”s heaving breaths. Hinata wanted to know what was wrong? Fine, he would tell him.

 

“They’re always with you recently. Whenever I see you at breakfast, at dinner, across a corridor, in class, at practice, they are always there too. I know it shouldn’t bother me, believe me I wish it didn’t, but it does. I want you to spend more time with me. I want to see my boyfriend for more than an hour a week and I don’t want him missing out on what little time we do have because his two friends who see him every day wanted to show him something cool!” He turned away from Hinata’s stunned face terrified about what would happen next and appalled at his own lapse of control.

 

Had he just ruined something which he treasured so much? Please no.

 

The stone wall he was currently staring at gave little comfort and he couldn’t bring himself to turn around and meet the no-doubt furious gaze that would be there. Those words, though they may have been said in a fit of anger, were true and he couldn’t take them back. Why would Hinata want to be with him now that he knew what a clingy jealous person he was? There were very few things in his life that he could call truly his and he guarded them fiercely.

 

“Hey.” This word unlike the last few was spoken softly, but what caused him to cease his staring competition with the wall was the slight tug on his hand. Not allowing himself to blink or breathe he turned with the most stoic face that his current state of mind could permit. His boyfriend, hopefully, was smiling at him.

 

It was that idiotic smile that had caused his chest to act funny in third-year, after heâ€™d finally acknowledged the other player as a rival and started spending more time with him. It was so full of sunshine and raw joy that it shouldn’t be real; nothing that bright could exist in real life right? But there it was, aimed at him and no-one else.

 

“I’ll do it.” Wait what?

 

“Huh?” Had he missed part of the conversation, wasn’t Hinata meant to be yelling at him for being so possessive and stomping off in the other direction?

 

I’ll try and spend more time with you. You have a right to ask for that. The other guys are my friends and I wouldn’t trade them for anything but you’re my boyfriend so you get to ask for time too. I really am sorry about today and next time, next time I’ll say no and ask them to show it to me later. But Kageyama.” At this a rare serious shade came over his eyes. “They’re not trying to take me away from you, I’m with  _you_ , and they get that. I wouldn’t choose them anyway because I only like you this way, jerk.”

 

With that said he wound his arms around Kageyama’s still tense neck and pulled his lips down to meet his. It was sweet, a little bit sticky from the toffee he’d snacked on during detention, and tinged with happiness that his boyfriend cared enough about spending time together to get angry like this. It was still a little awkward due to the height difference and the wand jabbing into his side but Hinata couldn’t bring himself to mind when his stubborn, silly, sometimes sweet, Slytherin boyfriend hugged him back and returned the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by fooboo24 on tumblr and I hope you like it. These two were difficult for me to write but I hope I captured the bickering aspect of their relationship. Next up I'm planning to do a Kurodai that was requested by Sumi in the comments. I can also do Brotp's and friendship fics as well.


	4. Kurodai - Train Rides 1

** First Year **

The scenery outside was blurring past at a rapid rate but Daichi could still tell when they lift the urban metropolis of London; big oddly shaped blobs of green and blue started whipping by at a speed which made him feel a little nauseous. Well a little more nauseous than he was currently feeling which was very. In an attempt to calm himself he started re-reading the book he’d taken with him for the journey, _The Hobbit_ , it was one of his favourite stories and he had recently felt a close kinship with Bilbo.

He, Daichi Sawamura whose parents worked boring jobs and who had never left his hometown, was going to attend a school that taught magic. A school for a secret world which ordinary people knew nothing about. There was a name for normal people but in his nervous state it slipped his mind, something beginning with an m- at least that was what the nice teacher had said. It had been quite a shock for the eleven year old and his family when there’d been a knock on the door one morning and standing on their front porch had been a man smiling at them wearing robes. Robes. One long explanation later, with plenty of disbelieving gapes and wide eyes, Professor Takeda had agreed with his parents to go with them down to London and properly introduce him to his new world.

Daichi wasn’t so sure that it was his world yet. The stares he’d received for asking for a pen instead of a quill. The slightly condescending nature of the salesperson in the potion shop. The muffled laughter when he’d asked why use owls instead of stamps. It all combined to make him feel very unsettled about this new world he was supposed to belong to. There was a structure here, something about blood and noble families that sounded right out of stories about King Arthur, and he was painfully aware of his own ignorance. Daichi hated feeling stupid.

His new school was called Hogwarts. If the situation wasn’t so serious he probably would have chuckled at the name but he worried, he was a worrier, had been for as long as he could remember. He liked knowing what was going to happen but now-

“You’re a muggleborn right?”

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see another young boy sitting across from him; he hadn’t heard a single sound of someone entering his compartment. The boy was shorter than him with weird hair that looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, he was staring at Daichi with an odd smile on his face; eyes darting from his book to his lunch to his trainers the odd smile just got a little bit wider.

Muggle that was the word for everyday people right? A little put off by the stranger just suddenly taking a seat and talking to him, it would have been politer to ask, he closed his book a little and nodded. The strangers grin widened and he sloped back further into the chair.

“So this must all be pretty new to you right?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s a little overwhelming but I think I’ll be fine. I’m Daichi Sawamura. Who are you?” The boy was still grinning at him and Daichi had the oddest feeling that he was being laughed at. The tiniest match-flame of anger lit inside his chest but he rushed to quash it. No point in making a bad first impression like his companion did.

“I’m Tetsurou Kuroo, so how are you finding all this?”

It’s pretty amazing but I still feel out of my depth. I mean I was pretty normal before this, my dad is a salesman and my mom sells real estate so it’s a big change.”

“Fascinating.” The prickling sense of irritation spread down Daichi’s arms; it was like being back in Diagon Ally, he felt ignorant again and he hated it. The boy, Kuroo, sat up straight and gave him a bigger grin than before.

“Hey want to see something cool?” Probably not from this boy but he was a bit bored so he nodded. The grin grew so it stretched from ear to ear and Daichi began to have second thoughts.

A small pentagonal package was thrown at him and he jolted up to catch it. Turning it over in his hand he traced the words ‘Chocolate Frog’ on the front of a blue and gold box.

“They’re really yummy. Muggles have chocolate don’t they?”

“We do.” The words came out clipped. He was annoyed at the boy and he didn’t know why, but he was forgetting his manners. “Thanks.”

What happened next would cement the relationship between the two of them for the next few years. Small fingertips dug into the box searching for an opening to get into to the box. The door to the compartment opened as the trolley lady poked her head in asking if the two youngsters wanted anything. Kuroo didn’t take his eyes off the unsuspecting muggle in front of him. The package accidentally split under Daichi’s not so careful handling and a magically enchanted confectionary leapt onto his face.

Naturally this came as quite a shock for the first-year and his reaction was understandable. The frog had managed to land perilously close to his eyes so they were snapped shut as he jumped up and tried to wipe the damn thing off his face. Unfortunately, the compartment wasn’t the most suitable of spaces for a small panicked child to run around yelping in and a moment later there was a crash as the inevitable happened. Boy met trolley.

Daichi felt the terrifying whatever-it-was jump off his face but his relief was short-lived when he felt something liquidy and sticky dribble down his back. The strong smell of pumpkin filled his nose and he looked across at his shoulder where a large bottle of Pumpkin Juice had been knocked over and was steadily dripping on his nice clean robes. The horror and shame he felt were extinguished by a fierce burst of anger when he heard the delinquent start to laugh hysterically at what happened.

The laughs were the final straw and with a displeased huff he stood up and stormed out of the compartment. He would later agonise over not helping the nice trolley woman but for now all he wanted to do was get away from the jerk he was sitting with. A now-hated black messy head stuck itself out the door.

“Oh c’mon it was funny. You’re not nervous anymore right?”

No Daichi was not nervous but he was furious. As he briskly stomped down the train only one thought rain through his mind.

He did not like Tetsurou Kuroo.

** Second Year **

Where on earth was Suga? They had promised to meet on the second train carriage but he couldn’t see his friend anywhere. Better find some seats for them before they all filled up.

With one hand clutching his backpack he squeezed into one of the empty compartments and plopped down near to the window. Travelling was still a new experience for him and he pressed his forward against the cool glass, anticipating the journey that would return him to the magical world.

“You’ll smudge the glass if you do that.”

Daichi felt his mood plummet to the ground take out a shovel and dig to the earth’s molten core. That annoying, snarky voice could only belong to one person. With a frown in place he looked behind him to glare at the boy innocently, though there was nothing innocent about him, standing in the doorway.

“What do you want Kuroo?” Short. Sharp. To the point. The Slytherin was clearly here for something and Daichi just wanted him to leave so that he and Suga could enjoy the journey to school in peace. Hopefully this would be a quick painless exchange and they could both leave without any fuss. That was the best but incredibly unlikely option. The other option would involve a great deal of yelling on his side, sarcastic comments from the toilet-brush head and maybe even a punch.

He had no idea what he’d done to make him so interesting to Kuroo and he frankly didn’t care. The other student never left him alone, asking questions about his muggle way of life, playing tricks on him, trying to one-up him in classes it was infuriating.

!Is there any reason to be so hostile? I was just pointing it out. You really can be very mean Sawamura.! Even the way he spoke Daichi’s name was bothersome, drawing out each syllable as if he was trying to taste the sounds before he let them go into the air.

“I’m only mean to you. You deserve it.”

“You can be a bit unkind to that Asahi kid.”

“That’s different and you know it. Now what do you want?”

“I just wanted to check in on my favourite Hufflepuff.”

“Leave and knock yourself out with a cauldron.” He turned back to the window intent on ignoring the pain-in-the-ass currently pouting rather pathetically.

“So cruel. I’m here to say that I’m trying out for the Quidditch team this year.” Daichi’s head snaps round so fast he’s probably given himself whiplash.

“What?! Only third years ever really make the teams. You’re insane.” That damned smirk is back and the oncoming headache only sours his mood more.

“I think I’ve got a decent shot. I practice a lot at home and my broom’s not too bad either. I understand why you’d be reluctant though, I mean you didn’t even know what Quidditch was until a year ago. Shame you might have made a good chaser.” With each word blood seems to be directed more and more to his face with anger. Kuroo is always like this.

“Are you say-”

“Well I gotta go, my friend Kenma is waiting for me somewhere on here. See you around.” With that the boy shot him one last self-satisfied smirk walked off down the corridor.

He never lets Daichi get the last word.

When Suga does find him he is busy planning how to order a broom. Even if it takes him until seventh year to get in a game he is going to wipe that smug smile off Kuroo’s face.

** Third Year **

Everywhere was full. He hoped that Suga and Asahi had already found somewhere to sit because he couldn’t see a single free space anywhere. He’d brought along some ‘muggle objects’ for them to have a look at during the ride and he was interested to see how’d they react to his I-pod and torch. The traffic had been snail-pace slow, literally moving about a metre in ten minutes; if his parents hadn’t insisted that they drop him off early then he might not have made it.

Excited babbling of eager first years filled the current carriage and more than once he found himself pressed up against the wall to save himself from being run over by one or two of the more excited newcomers. Had he been that energetic on his first ride? He didn’t think so, his first ride was characterised with feelings of nausea and anger.

A body slammed into his knocking any air out of his lungs and slamming him against the wall. A muffled sorry echoed down the corridor before an orange blur charged off down the train. He grabbed the wall to haul himself up, his ribs protesting loudly, and he could feel a bruise starting to form on his skin. At some point his eyes had snapped shut from the pain and he took in a deep breath to settle himself. If he wanted a shot on getting on the regular team then a hurt chest was the last thing he wanted.

“You alright there Sawamura?”

No. No. Please not him.

With a heavy sense of doom and weariness he cracked open one eye. Before both of them immediately widened. The Kuroo in front of him looked different to the asshole who had been tormenting him for the past two years. The boy in front of him reminded Daichi of a jumbled bag of coat hangers; skin stretched to the limit by sharp angles and points and there was something unexplainably unsure about him which is usually confidant demeanour was having trouble to fully hide. He was also now taller than Daichi, which angered him for reasons that would sound infantile if he chose to voice them. Even though the robes he was wearing had clearly been bought recently they already looked a little short on him so who knew how tall he would be when his body decided to stop growing. Daichi himself had shot up a bit over the summer but he still felt fairly comfortable in his skin. He certainly didn’t look as gangly and awkward as the Slytherin.

The situation went from odd to downright surreal when Kuroo, who had noticed Daichi’s shocked look, blushed. He honest to god blushed. A light dusting of red sprung up on his cheeks and neck which screamed of embarrassment. Daichi wasn’t sure whether to laugh or continue gaping because holy hell Kuroo, the most shameless guy he knew, was blushing! Over a simple up and down look. Maybe it was a little cruel of him but he felt a small smirk creep onto his face at the image his nemesis presented.

“Stop staring!” Kuroo snapped, and maybe Daichi would have if his voice hadn’t cracked on the last word.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back and Daichi fell against the wall of the train laughing. His arms circled around his stomach as if to hold himself upright but this only succeeded in pressing harder against the sore spot frim his earlier collision. He kept on laughing though because in all his thirteen years of being alive nothing, absolutely nothing, was as funny as the horrified look on Tetsurou Kuroo’s face when his voice broke. Not even the wounded pride in his frown which immediately followed, although that was a close second and only had the effect of making Daichi laugh harder.

Maybe it was cruel of him and maybe he should have felt a bit more sympathetic about the now traffic-light red colour of Kuroo’s face but he didn’t have any time to apologise, or even begin to gather himself together before Kuroo glared at him.

“Shut up!” With that ingenious comeback Kuroo whirled around, he actually whirled with his robe fanning out like a dress, and stomped off into another carriage. It probably would have had more impact if his voice hadn’t cracked again and sent Daichi into another round of hysterical giggles.

It took a panicked Noya running to get Suga yelling 'Daichi-san's been hit by a Laughing Curse!" before he was able to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was getting a bit too long so I decided to chop it up into two bits. This was for Sumi who asked for some more Kurodai, and I love these two so keep an eye out for part 2. Thank you to everyone who has left a comment or a Kudos I'm glad you seem to be enjoying it. I'm still taking any requests you guys would like to see me attempt to write.


	5. Kurodai - Train Rides 2

** Fourth Year **

He couldn’t wait to be back at Hogwarts. After a whole summer of hiding his magic from the rest of the neighbourhood he could feel it twitching and swirling restlessly beneath his skin. Just by being on the train he felt better, the whole vehicle seemed to sparkle and pop with the magical energy of students and the long-held tension began to seep away from his shoulders.

It wasn’t that he disliked going back home, far from it, it was just that with each passing year he was becoming more aware of the difference between him and the rest of the kids back home. His parents had come up with a fake boarding-school story; his dad had even printed off some fake leaflets and things, so it wasn’t like they were suspicious of where he went or anything. No the issue was with him, he could feel himself pulling away from that world with each day he spent at school. The draw of the wizarding world sucked him in a little further with each passing minute; he was enthralled by all that he could do and learn there was always something new to experience and fascinate him.

But it felt like it was costing him his old life.

Conversations with his parents where now slightly stilted as they struggled to bridge the gap, created by his magic, between them. Old friends would ask him about his new school and Daichi knew that he was a terrible liar so instead he had to brush them off, ignore their concerns and try as subtly as he could to misdirect them. Activities which he once found interesting where now boring as he eagerly perused his new book list for the coming year. It frightened him. It scared him that he could so easily slip into a new life and apparently forget the old.

He loved having access to both worlds. It was still inconceivable to him as to why they used quills instead of pens. So to think that he was possibly losing one saddened him. He didn’t want to forget where he came from but-

“Bathroom’s free now you know.”

Merlin strike him down now. He was not in the mood for this. Then again he was never in the mood for the aggravating guy.

“I was just thinking. It might seem like a foreign activity to you but most people do it on a regular basis.” With his temper already slightly frayed from his gloomy thoughts his words came out with more of a bite than usual.

“Yes but most people are boring and I’ve always preferred to stick out from the crowd.”

“Usually for the wrong reasons.” Daichi mumbled before turning to fully face the cause of his frequent headaches. Sure enough Kuroo was standing there arms folded with that ever-present smirk on his face that Daichi was learning to hate a little more each year. Regrettably, the awkwardness of last year seem to have gone and the gangly bag of coat hangers had been replaced by a tall, lean, fairly fit teenager who was admittedly handsome and unfortunately was very aware that he was. His voice had changed too, now it was deep with a constant persuasive quality in it; a quality which he knew was going to be used all too often in the coming years.

“What do you want?” He asked, he’d promised the others he’d be back in a few minutes and he wouldn’t put it past Tanaka, Noya or Hinata to get worried and come running for him.

“I can’t check in on my favourite Hufflepuff?” Kuroo replied taking full advantage of his annoyingly impressive height to lean over Daichi. “I spent the whole summer pining over you.” His eyes were fixed on Daichi’s face and the first prickles of unease started to form in the Hufflepuff’s mind.

“More likely you spent a minute bemoaning the loss of a victim to mock before moving on to infuriate someone else.”

“I’d never move on from you Sawamura, no-one else has the same cute reactions as you.” Kuroo declared, his mouth twitching at the sides to form a diabolical smile. Daichi was too busy spluttering over his words to pay attention to the eyes taking inventory of his face and the appreciative look developing within them.

“I-I’m not cute dammit! Now move out the way so I can get to the toilet.” With that he stormed forward past Kuroo, fervently hoping that the red blooming on his cheeks, solely caused by fury of course, was not that visible.

“Oh yeah, those little underclassmen you’ve adopted are probably getting concerned. What’s it like being a dad at fourteen? Most teenage fathers aren’t great so I’ve got my fingers crossed that you’ll do better.” The only response to this witty remark is a single finger raised and aimed clearly in the Slytherin’s direction, but Kuroo’s eyes weren’t on the top half of his furious schoolmate. No his eyes had sunk lower and were glued on a certain area and the appreciative look turns into something a bit more fiery.

** Fifth Year **

****

The badge felt heavy on his robe. Not a bad heavy but a heavy kind of like when his neighbours ask him to babysit their three year old daughter or when Kageyama and Hinata come and beg him for help on their latest Potions essay. The two of them are important to him but he’s not going to lie they’re also two of the dumbest wizards, no humans, that he’s ever met.

It’s a heavy that has weighed constantly on his shoulders since he joined the Quidditch team as a chaser and seen the joy and despair one game could generate. It’s a heavy that is a whisper in the back of his mind whenever he sees a first-year looking lost in the halls regardless of House. It’s the same heavy that refuses him to walk away when he sees one or two of the more odd students get victimized in the corridors.

The prefect badge was that kind of heavy.

Despite what Suga and Asahi had said he hadn’t believed that he would get chosen. It was the part of him that was still unsure about his place in this extraordinary world when he was just ordinary Daichi.

He’s sitting alone in a compartment, resisting the urge to fiddle with the mark of his new station, and it’s making him jumpy. Him being alone on the train is never a good thing because a certain smirky Slytherin has an uncanny ability to find him in these isolated moments.

It’s not paranoia if it’s true.

The prefect’s carriage is a little more spacious than the others and he’s waiting for the Head Boy and Girl to come and assign him duties. The other fifth year Hufflepuff prefect is his friend Kiyoko Shimizu and she should be here any minute now.

Behind him the door squeaked open and he stood up to greet his fellow keeper of the peace.

“Good afternoon, how was your summer this year?” So it’s a little robotic, talking to girls has never been one of his strong suits; even less so now that he’s had the epiphany that it’s not the female members of Hogwarts that he’s attracted to.

“I think those are the most polite words you’ve ever said to me. Really boring though. Can you go back to being all twitchy mad and cute please?”

It’s been a hot day and he’s suddenly pissed. That’s why his cheeks burn an alarming shade of red when he turns around to shoot a blistering glare at Kuroo.

“You’re not meant to be here, get the hell out of the carriage.” The wounded look on Kuroo’s face wouldn’t have convinced a troll that he was upset.

“Why are you always so mean to me? I just came to congratulate you on your new badge that’s all.” Daichi frowns and cocks his head to the right.

“How on earth did you know I was going to be picked as a prefect?” He’d just sent letters to his close friends and he hadn’t seen Kuroo before today either, though the guy’s damned owl was a fairly frequent guest at home. Why he gave the sneaky bastard his home address he has no idea. Most likely because Kuroo would have found out anyway through less than approved means hence Daichi had bowed to the inevitable.

It was jarring to learn that on paper Kuroo could be tolerable, even funny at times which was the only reason he wrote back. That and it would have been rude not to reply.

“Who else were they going to pick?” The clear bewilderment in that tone, for once Kuroo might be being honest, does strange things to Daichi’s chest. It’s as if Kuroo can’t even _imagine_ the teachers choosing anyone other than him. He was so sure that Daichi would get it that he didn’t even check before heading to the prefect’s carriage and lounging against the door half-awake and rumpled. The frank nature of his words effects Daichi more than any of his friend’s attempts to assure him that he is right for the role.

If Kuroo who lives to exploit his weaknesses, who has no qualms about censoring himself or his views on others and who only gives a straight answer once in a rainbow moon when the unicorns come out to play, implies that Daichi is the natural choice to be a prefect then it would be a lie to say he didn’t feel a little bit better.

Instead of saying all this, he’d rather not die of mortification before he graduates; he huffs and narrows his eyes.

“Seriously, you’re not meant to be in here. Go find a seat and settle down.” Kuroo raises a single black eyebrow at him.

“Easy there you’re not my prefect Sawamura.” He leans a little further into the carriage and the usual smirk turns downright lecherous. “Of course if you want to be _mine_ I have no complaints with you being bossy at all.” His voice has sunk to a purr and it crawls up Daichi’s spine as if a hand has traced all the vertebrae on his back.

For a moment Daichi is shocked into silence. Utterly dumbfounded at the innuendo dripping from Kuroo’s voice and the heated tincture of his eyes. The stunned state doesn’t last long before apocalyptic fury races through his veins. I the back of his mind a voice whispers that Kuroo doesn’t know about Daichi’s recent awareness but it is drowned out by the hurt _screaming_ which wants to curse him to oblivion for saying something like that. For implying something ludicrous while looking languid, oozing confidence and entirely too much of Daichi’s type to be comfortable. For the slight mocking twist of his words which shows that the chances of his suggestion happening are as likely as Tsukishima asking Hinata for help with charms. For making a joke out of something that Daichi has spent most of his summer agonising over; locked in his room terrified of asking for help and feeling so utterly alone that his chest still hurt remembering it.

It feels like first year again when Kuroo made him look stupid and then laughed at him for it.

He hates feeling stupid.

“Get out.” The two words are spoken so fiercely that the almost friendly atmosphere before crumbles into nothingness.

Kuroo stares at him, honestly confused as to what has set him off. An honesty that is missed by Daichi, all he knows is that he needs Kuroo to leave now. He knows he’s being unfair and irrational but it _hurts_ and he’s never been good at dealing with his own pain.

“Sawamra-”

“I said leave!” He shouts and he focuses on the pain from his clenched hands. Narrowing in on the piercing sting of his nails biting into the palm so that he doesn’t have to see the raw confusion on the hated (?) face, doesn’t have to acknowledge that Kuroo only ever intends to tease him, he never hurts him, doesn’t have to face the reasons why he’s hurt so much.

Maybe Kuroo can see some of that pain and realises that he’s crossed a boundary which he had no idea existed until that point because he doesn’t say a word, he simply stares at Daichi with wide eyes. Eyes which Daichi doesn’t want to see because they’re full of bewilderment.

He spins around to the face the window and even when the quiet click of the door shutting does nothing to quell the conflicting storm raging in his head. The turmoil in his chest won’t quieten down for a good few months.

** Sixth Year **

It doesn’t take long for Daichi to come to the conclusion that he really dislikes patrolling the Hogwarts Express. There are about fifteen different rules been broken in each compartment and the usual suspects all glare at him as he does his job. It’s shitty because he’d much rather be somewhere else too. He passed by his friends a while ago and the warmth and affection in their greetings had been a slight balm to his rapidly fraying nerves but it was soon gone when he walked into the following carriage where some moron of a Gryffindor fourth year had attempted to cast some sort of water spell and flooded the entire space. This would have been problematic if an equally idiotic Hufflepuff third year hadn’t been showing off his new pet magic snake or something that apparently grew when wet.

It was not a fun experience, and his new robes had several new bites in it from where the blasted thing had decided that overworked sixth year prefect sounded like a good lunch. It had taken a number of spells, and a great deal of curse words, before it was convinced that this was a bad idea.

He was sure that this was punishment for sending the Head Boy’s brother to detention last year for levitating dung bombs above the Great Hall. The brat was a whiny one who never failed to run to his big brother if someone so much as sneezed on him.

Thankfully most of the compartments of his current carriage were first years who were relatively pleasant to deal with. They all stared up at him wide-eyed and innocent so he forced a calm tone into his voice, as if he was dealing with a panicking Hinata, and told them who he was and what his job was. They looked less like stone statues after that, one or two of them even smiled at him which warmed his insides. He enjoyed working with kids and this year’s bunch of new students were fairly cute. He’d even spotted a girl who could only be Natsu Hinata wandering off towards the toilets. Her brother had given many gushing descriptions of his little sister, so much that all of the Karasuno study group were set to be her protectors for her first year. He knew a certain star Slytherin player was eager to make a good impression on her and Daichi had caught him practicing that terrifying smile of his in the mirror on the way down.

One more to go, then he could go collapse in the prefect’s carriage and moan to Kiyoko for a bit. She’d taken the other half of the train and he was convinced that it was nowhere near as bad as his had been.

He stepped through the next door and froze.

Kuroo was standing in the pathway laughing. His head thrown back, hair ridiculous as ever, eyes closed and big snorting laughs pouring from his mouth. For once he didn’t look like the smug Quidditch rival (friend?) who lived to torment him he looked relaxed, happy and so stunning that it kinda hurt to stare at him.

It hurt more to stare at what was making him laugh.

The captain of the Gryffindor team, Koutaro Bokuto, stood next to him with his hand clamped around Kuroo’s bicep laughing equally as hard. Tears were pouring down his cheeks and it looked like the hand on the arm was more for support than anything else.

The two of them were well-known around the school for having one of the unlikeliest friendships ever, Hinata and Kageyama probably came a close second, they should have been enemies from day one but instead theyâ€™d clicked. It was a weird relationship and one never tired of laughing at/humiliating/competing with the other but it had lasted six years of House rivalry.

He’d never seen Kuroo laugh like that before.

He’d seen him smirk, chortle, cackle at one point he’d even heard him giggle but he’d never, in the entire time they’d known each other, seen him laugh. A laugh that made Daichi understand the phrase ‘lit up his entire face’ because Kuroo usually looked hot when he was just standing, yes that did hurt a little to admit but it was true. But when he laughed, God he looked beautiful.

“Sawamura-san.” He jumped at the quiet voice from one of the open compartments. Akaashi Keiji, a fifth year Slytherin, stared up at him with a hint of concern. He’d helped Akaashi when he’d been a third year and found a group of older Slytherins bullying the half-blood after dinner. They hadn’t lasted long under Daichi’s anger and he’d been friends of sorts with the younger boy for a few years.

“Are you well? You look a little pale.”

How could Daichi even begin to explain the unpleasant cacophony of thoughts buzzing around his brain? His mouth opened but it had turned bone-dry and he couldn’t manage a hoarse croak.

He was dimly aware of Bokuto frowning at him and moving towards him with a hand, the same hand he’d been holding onto Kuroo with, outstretched to presumably offer help.

He was very aware of Kuroo straightening sharply and the sudden stop of the laughter. The laughter which transformed his face. Which made Daichi want to join in, made him want to cause. Which had been caused by Bokuto. Just like last year he could feel rationality receding; protests of ‘this shouldn’t bother you’, ‘why do you even care’, ‘it’s not what you think’ were drowned out by pure emotional turmoil.

“Sawamura?” Wow Akaashi must be really worried if he dropped the -san. He should probably assure the boy that everything was fine, that he was fine, and that he was just doing his rounds. Rounds which he needed to finish right now. That was what he should be doing instead of staring at Kuroo mildly uneasy face. Last year he forced Kuroo to leave, this year it was his turn.

He couldn’t stay there.

“Sorry, just doing my rounds. Actually I think I did this one at the start. Must have gotten confused. I’ll see you in school Akaashi-kun.” Was what he thought he babbled out but he wasn’t that aware of the words leaving his mouth at this point. He just needed to leave. Kuroo made a gesture to move and that forced him to action.

With a sickly smile at a now anxious-looking Akaashi, he’d have to reassure him later that it was just a cold or something, and a vacant wave at Bokuto, they knew each other through Quidditch and Akaashi so he had no just cause to despise the captain as much as he suddenly did, he turned and practically ran out of the carriage.

Someone may have called his name but he didn’t stop moving. He didn’t stop until he reached the prefect carriage and collapsed next to Kiyoko. If she thought the devastated look on his face was due to a particularly bad patrol then she was partially right,

It had been an awful one.

** Seventh Year **

****

Resisting the urge to tap his foot and cross his arms like he’d seen his father do Daichi waited outside the door of the prefect carriage for the latecomers to arrive. He’d like to start his role as Head Boy feeling cheerful but latecomers were a special gripe of his. It didn’t help that there was somewhere he’d much rather be, and someone he’d rather be with.

The train had left ten minutes ago and he wanted to hand out the patrols soon so that he could get started on his other duties for this year. More specifically as captain of the Quidditch team he had to draw up a training regime and get started on trials for new players; they were down one seeker, one beater and a chaser which wasn’t great.

“Well you look as cheerful as ever.”

The voice and accompanying arm round his shoulder where distractions he couldn’t afford to deal with right now.

“Shouldn’t you be off tormenting Bokuto to celebrate the start of the year? He might get upset if you don’t plague him for a good hour or so.2

A chuckle comes from somewhere awfully close to his ear and Daichi resists the urge to move from his spot. He really can’t allow himself to lose focus.

“Still so mean and Bokuto’s probably a little distracted right now. I saw him dragging Akaashi towards the luggage carriage five minutes ago.” Daichi can feel the oncoming headache and cranes his neck to stare at the familiar ever-smug face perched on his shoulder.

“I highly doubt Akaashi would let him get away with that.” The smirk widened and Kuroo leaned his head in closer. There were only a couple of centimetres between their faces and warm puffs of breath were intermingling in the centre. Coming to the conclusion that licking his suddenly dry lips would not help the situation Daichi settled for looking incredulous instead. He doesn’t think he’s succeeded as Kuroo’s smirk goes from teasing to darkly playful.

“They’ve not seen each other all summer, even someone as self-controlled as Akaashi has to deal with tension.” The way he drawls out the word tension is obscene and Daichi finally shrugs off the limb keeping him in place and pointedly moves a step to the left.

“In that case I better send one of the prefects down to fetch them. That sort of - activity is forbidden on the train.” He does not want to think of Akaashi and Bokuto like that. He really does not need the image stuck in his head. Kuroo snorts and moves to return his head to Daichi’s shoulder.

“I don’t think even you’re that cruel to embarrass them like that. Well embarrass Akaashi, I don’t think that loudmouth owl has any sense of shame.”

“Like you’re one to talk.” A quick glance down the hallway shows that the latecomers still haven’t arrived, and there will be hell to pay when Daichi gets his hands on them, but it distracts him long enough for a pair of strong arms to encircle waist and pull him flat against Kuroo’s chest.

“Let me go idiot!” He knows that there is a smirk being pressed into the back of his neck, he can just feel it.

“No, I missed you.” Daichi’s anger is pulled out from under him and he frowns, not pouts he doesn’t pout despite what some people (Kuroo) say. The arms around his waist tighten enough to eliminate any space between their bodies and he can feel the skin of the chest behind him expand and contract with each breath the other takes.

Should he say something back? This was not exactly his area of expertise.

“You know Akaashi’s not the only one who wants to deal with tension.”

“No, I’m not sneaking off with you to – I’m Head Boy now Kuroo I’ve got responsibilities to take care of.” The smirk on his neck is replaced by a different sensation. Soft light kisses are carefully placed on his skin; each one warm and gentle, sending little bolts of awareness through Daichi’s body. He was hyperaware of the boy behind him and it would be so satisfying to just give in. Let his boyfriend drag him off somewhere and reunite properly after a summer apart. As if he can sense Daichi’s waning will the kisses become a bit sharper; a slight bite of teeth, a little sucking on the skin. The hands on his waist drop to hold his hips and he knows, he knows this is a terrible idea, that this can only end badly for him but-

“You’ve always got responsibilities I think you must have been born with the word duty on your mouth. C’mon just a few minutes then I’ll be good I promise.”

Kuroo has always been an expert at making him act unlike himself. He can feel the last wails of protest die a quiet death as Kuroo’s hips rock against his in what could be an innocent accidental motion but is definitely not.

Tension snaps. So does Daichi.

Kuroo barely has time to look triumphant before he is pushed against the prefect carriage door and his mouth claimed in a desperate kiss by Daichi. Triumph is the last thing he feels as his adorable muggle boyfriend kisses him for the first time in months.

Needless to say the late prefects paid dearly for not showing up on time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is part 2. This turned out a lot longer than I expected but I'm fairly happy with the end result. Next up Kurodai first kiss requested by grandstander.


	6. Kurodai - First Kiss

The cheers from the Slytherin common room echoed round the castle. Not that Daichi could blame them, it had been a spectacular win against Ravenclaw and he’d decided to overlook his fellow Slytherin prefect sneaking in one or two boxes of wizard alcohol. Though he would have no sympathy for their state tomorrow; they wanted to celebrate fine but don’t come whining about being late to lessons because of hangovers the next day.

 

He was doing his last check of the corridors before lights out and his usual route brought him fairly close to the unusually rowdy common room. An unwilling smile tugged at his mouth; in a few days it would be Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor and if things went as expected _their_ party would show the snakes exactly how to properly rejoice a victory. The game had been good and Kageyama’s final grab for the snitch had been masterful; the fourth year had a long career ahead of him if he continued his abnormal growth rate. Although he may have been inspired by a screeching Hinata yelling at him to win or else he was going to practice with someone else.

 

Really how oblivious could those two be about one another?

 

He shook his head and continued to lazily amble forward; this was a famously quiet area for the prefects so he could take it fairly easy. This was the patrol he used to think over personal stuff without the rest of his friends. Merlin knew he cared for them but he was very aware that it was his job to listen and to solve problems rather than voice his own. He didn’t blame them for that, it was a role he had happily shouldered but it did leave him with limited options. Most of the time, nearly all, he and Suga would lean on each other but his current problem was one he had to get through himself.

 

It had been an odd start to the school year for him. By all rights everything should be perfect; he was on top of his homework load, the team looked to be in great shape, nothing terrible had happened to his friends, some of his underclassmen had actually matured a little and the subjects he had chosen to take to N.E.W.T. level were very interesting. It looked to be a great year.

 

Except he wasn’t happy.

 

It was so frustrating, this was the type of year he’d been _dreaming_ to have at Hogwarts since second year and half of the time he felt miserable. In the back of his mind he knew why but he was loathe to acknowledge it and terrified of what it could mean.

 

“Tough night dearie?”

 

Startled by the new voice he looked up, the surprise melting into a warm smile as he gazed at one of his favourite portraits at the school. She was just called The Widow and she was a beautiful woman of about fifty five who stood in a graveyard dressed in black constantly crying, even when she smiled. Despite her name she was one of the nicest most helpful paintings he’d ever met. Whenever he patrolled down here he’d always spend a couple of minutes talking to her, if he couldn’t go to Suga with his problems on a rare occasion then she was his second choice. Even in his sixth year he retained all the wonder about the magical pictures from his first. When he’d accidentally got lost down here on his way to potions she’d offered to give him directions but he’d been so fascinated by her, none of the other paintings spoke to him much, that he’d spent a full hour just sat in front of her telling her about his experiences. It had been good to sit down and talk after his very first week. They’d been friends ever since.

 

“No, it’s been fairly quiet so far. Just a couple of things on mind that’s all.” She nodded and dabbed her perpetually crying face.

 

“You always do Daichi-kun; I’d have thought you’d be more concerned about that dreadful racket the Slytherin students are producing.”

 

 “I’m giving them a free pass tonight. They played an excellent game today.” She obviously heard the admiration in his voice because she raised one elegant eyebrow.

 

“You and your Quidditch.” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. A thought occurred to him and he straightened up.

 

“They’re not bothering you are they, I can go ask them to quiet down a bit if they are.” It would not be pleasant and it was highly unlikely that anyone apart from Akaashi and Kageyama would listen to him but she was his friend. Never mind that he had another private reason for not wanting to go within ten metres of the celebration _._

 

“No, no I’m quite used to it by now. Besides that nice sixth year boy came and asked me especially if I would mind and I said it was fine.”

 

A chill went up his spine. A Slytherin sixth year boy? Surely not….she thought he was nice?

 

“Uhh, does he happen to be on the Quidditch team?” She brightened and gave a quick nod.

 

“Yes I do believe he is; he’s the keeper? I think that’s what it’s called. Rather odd hair though, looked like he’d rolled straight out of bed.”

 

“Playing Quidditch has that effect on hair unfortunately.” He managed to reply while his mind was plunged into a whirlpool of confusion and dread. Two emotions that had been present inside him since the train ride up to Hogwarts. “Well, I better finish my rounds.” Had his voice gotten higher?

 

“Are you sure you’re feeling well? You look a little pale.”

 

“I’m fine, just tired. I-I’ll see you later. Goodnight.” His arm moved in a semblance of a wave and he practically ran to turn around the next corner. Whether she waved back or not he wouldn’t know, all his effort was going to quelling the storm recently released inside his brain.

 

So maybe the problem wasn’t as far pushed back as he’d like to believe.

 

He hadn’t spoken more than two words to Kuroo since that meeting on the train. That meeting which kept repeating again and again in front of his eyes like an hourly tv special. The same details; Kuroo’s laughter, Bokuto’s hand, Akaashi’s concern and an unexplainable feeling of hurt, they grew more vivid with each recollection.

 

It was that last emotion which was causing his current state. Why the hell should he feel hurt? Why was it that whenever he remembered the scene hurt was the strongest emotion linked to it? Hurt which clogged up his throat and stabbed into his chest. Hurt which coupled with his confusion over why meant he had been actively avoiding Kuroo for the past few weeks.

 

It hadn’t been easy and he’d received a fair amount of worried looks, both to his face and behind his back. He knew it had to stop when Hinata and Kageyama both realised that he wasn’t acting like himself but he didn’t know how to stop it. To do that he needed to meet with Kuroo and that was not something he was prepared for.

 

Because what was he meant to say? “Hey, sorry about evading you this term but you see I’m kinda having an emotional crisis because I saw Bokuto-san put his arm on you in the train. It made me feel ill for some reason I’m still trying to discover and I thought the best plan of action was to completely ignore you. So I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, which is ridiculous because of course you’re not upset by my actions, fuck you were probably relieved that I’d stopped hounding you about rules and responsibility, and I don’t know why I’m apologizing because we’re not even friends. Are we? No, what am I saying? We’re only slightly less antagonistic to one another at times but I feel like dragon dung when I think about avoiding you because you’ve been a pain in the ass for six years but shit, you were always there and now it feels wrong that you’re not. Which it shouldn’t because it’s _you_ and I’m not supposed to like you, let alone….anyway I’m going to organise some therapy for myself. I’ll see you around, and stop upsetting the third years!”

 

Yeah that would go down about as well as a surprise test in seventh year ancient runes.

 

It was insane, if what he thought about Kuroo and Bokuto was true, and really he was basing it on one action and one too many romance novels (it was a guilty pleasure ok), then why was it bothering him? Bother was too light a word; the whole situation was driving him insane. He wasn’t homophobic, he liked Bokuto the guy was impossible to dislike and a fierce chaser to boot. He’d heard numerous stories from Hinata, Noya and Tanaka in praise of their captain.

 

So it wasn’t the idea of a possible new couple. It wasn’t one of the members of it. It wasn’t the fact that it was a same sex pair. So it must be, as it always was for him, Kuroo.

 

It was the idea of Kuroo being with someone………….else? No. No. No. There had to be another reason, there just had to be because if there wasn’t, he was in deadly serious trouble.

 

Maybe some sleep would help. A lie it never helped and he hadn’t slept a full night through for four days.

 

The stairs up came into view and he picked up the pace, the warm fuzzy promise of his bed whispering in his mind, and his jaw cracked as he let out a yawn. The curfew patrols always left him feeling drained despite their relatively peaceful nature.

 

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

 

Nope. He was imagining it, he just needed to get upstairs and go to sleep.

 

“Still running away from me I see.”

 

What stopped him wasn’t the fact that it sounded like Kuroo. It was that it didn’t sound like Kuroo; the teasing tone which he thought was part of the Slytherin’s natural voice was noticeably absent. In its place was something harsh and brittle. He could count on his hand the number of times he’d seen Kuroo get truly angry, one time at him, and there was a hint of that fury present but the guy just sounded as drained as Daichi felt.

 

Squaring his shoulders and praying his face was a blank mask, Kuroo could usually read him like a book but this was too important for him to find out, he turned around. Just like in their first meeting the other hadn’t made a sound. Unlike that time Kuroo wasn’t smiling and the sight sent a wintry tremor down his spine.

 

A Kuroo without a smile or a smirk was both threatening and gut-wrenching.

 

Returning to the present he fell behind his usual dealing-with-Kuroo frown. He hadn’t had to use it for a while so it felt rusty and uncomfortable as if he’d put on an old shoe only to find that his foot had grown.

 

“You should go back to your room Kuroo-san, curfew is in ten minutes.” For once he really hoped that Kuroo would just let him leave.

 

He hoped in vain. Kuroo snorted and walked right up to Daichi’s face. His feet were a little wobbly and this close Daichi could smell the unmistakeable scent of fire whiskey on Kuroo’s breath. The eyes boring into his though were focused enough that he didn’t feel in danger of dealing with a smashed Kuroo, only a slightly drunk one.

 

It only made the situation odder. Kuroo was a happy drunk, and a clingy one as he’d discovered in fifth year, occasionally a whiny one but not a serious one. The tremor transformed into a chill and he squashed the urge to move back. Letting Kuroo have even the slightest victory over him was unacceptable even when they were…having a fight?

 

“Wouldn’t want me to get in trouble would we Sawamura-san.” The honorific was hissed out, a pointed retaliation for his own uncharacteristic use of one. How messed up was their relationship when being polite to each other was a bad sign? With great difficult he avoided directly meeting the brown eyes focused on his.

 

“No, now please go back to your celebration.”

 

“Tch, please.” Kuroo huffed but didn’t move an inch. “The others will be fine without me; I’m not in a party mood right now.”

 

The concern growing within Daichi was reaching alarming levels. His frown softened into pure bewilderment.

 

“What? Why? You played really well and your team was great. I’ve never known you to back out of a celebration.” Maybe it was the hint of levity in his final words which did it because the next thing he knows a positively enraged looking Kuroo backing him up against the wall. Their bodies weren’t touching but only by a little and Kuroo’s hands are clenched at his side. Heat from the two of them made it uncomfortably warm and the tension which had been coiling between them from the beginning of term was reaching the breaking point.

 

What would happen once it broke he didn’t know.

 

“You avoid me for weeks and suddenly you’re concerned that I’m not in a mood for a party? A bit rich don’t you think?” He was clearly attempting his usual lazy drawl but it carried a tinge of bitterness and felt a bit too raw to be believable.

 

“Back off Kuroo.” He may be unsure but he did not like to be cornered. His comment only brought a sneer.

 

“No. I finally corner you after weeks of you fleeing at the sight of me, you think I’m gonna let you go that easily?” He can’t deny the accusation but-

 

“You’re drunk. Go to bed.” He thought it was impossible but somehow Kuroo was able to move even closer without touching him. Was that disappointment, relief, anger curling up in his stomach?

 

“I’m just a little tipsy. You’ve seen me drunk after all.” Now his voice dropped to its usual tone. A lascivious purr which seemed to shimmer in the space between them. Memories shot through his brain; last game of fifth year, a total Slytherin victory, Kuroo practically drinking an entire crate of fire whiskey for a dare, Daichi having to bring him from the hall to his common room, grabbing hands, slurring words and the bastard had said goodbye with a kiss to the cheek which left a trail of fire all along his skin. He jolted his head back, banging it against the stone. He winced at the throbbing pain but it helped him concentrate.

 

“Go to bed, don’t talk to me like that and take a glass of water before you go to sleep.” God, even pissed at the guy he still…still cares.

 

Kuroo made an effort to frown which was unfortunately adorable as the alcohol in his veins throws off his co-ordination and it came off as a mildly troubled pout.

 

“I always talk to you like that, you’ve never asked me to stop before.” He had but Kuroo had kept up with it until he’d thought it best just to ignore him.

 

“I don’t think Bokuto-san would appreciate it.” Fuck.

 

Shit. Why had he said that? How had that slipped from his mouth? Please let Kuroo be too drunk to notice. Please Helga, Rowena, Salazar and Godric, let that go unnoticed.

 

“What?” Kuroo jolted back like he’d been hit with a blasting curse. The pout successfully turning into a frown this time as his fuzzy mind tried to make sense of the words he’d heard.

 

“What the hell does Bokuto have to do with anything?” Daichi opened his mouth to refute everything but a hand clamps itself across his face. Kuroo’s mind is retracing the path of the conversation and he refused to let himself be distracted. His sixth year had been shitty so far because of the avoidance and he wanted things fixed now.

 

The terrified prefect could see the exact moment when he pieced the puzzles together. The links between his flirty tone, Bokuto, the avoidance maybe even the train incident all weaving together. Kuroo wasn’t an idiot. He most likely had a better idea why Daichi felt this way than he did.

 

“You moron. Idiotic, couldn’t-see-a-Hippogriff-if-it-landed-on-him dumbass-” Fury saturated every syllable of his speech and this time hands pressed him back against the wall. Cold stone bit into his back, it was stiff and uncomfortable but Daichi couldn’t tear his eyes away from the pure rage in Kuroo’s expression. He hadn’t yelled or raised his voice by a decibel but Kuroo was radiating anger.

 

As usual whenever Kuroo attacked Daichi fought right back. Struggling to straighten his back he glared right back at the enraged boy who was still spitting increasingly insulting names at him.

 

“-goody two shoes, middle-aged, jackass. After everything, you think _Bokuto_! Years spent together and you still don’t know anything about me.” The voice had started to rise and desperation was starting to seep through the rage. The hands hadn’t loosened on his arms but they had changed from restraining to simply holding. He looked up to see Kuroo’s head bent down towards him eyes begging, pleading, with Daichi to notice something.

 

He wanted to understand.

 

In that moment he wanted nothing more than to understand why.

 

Why was this happening? Why had this situation been allowed to grow? Why hadn’t he noticed? Why was Kuroo mad?

 

Why Kuroo of all people?

 

“Six years and you still have no fucking clue.”

 

It was just defeat now. Kuroo looked defeated and Daichi hated it. Kuroo was never meant to look defeated, not supposed to look sad, not meant to pull at his chest.

 

Defeat and Kuroo should never ever be together.

 

He wanted it gone. Wanted it to leave the face which had become such a big part of his life.

 

So he made it disappear.

 

The coil snapped. The tension broke. Six years of teasing, arguing, pinning acme to a head.

 

Daichi kissed Kuroo.

 

It wasn’t great. He had no clue what he was doing, this was completely driven by instinct and it was more a smashing of mouths rather than a meeting of lips. Teeth clashed painfully and Daichi almost pulled back.

 

 

Because the rest of him was shrieking at him to continue. He was most likely bruising Kuroo’s mouth, there was definitely blood in his mouth and his neck was straining across the distance between them to stay connected.

 

But it felt amazing.

 

At least up until the moment he noticed that his companion had frozen. Fear scorched through him and he started to pull away. A switch flickered to on and Kuroo grabbed his head to keep him there and started to kiss back.

 

Hands curled at the hairs on his neck and he felt the swipe of a tongue against his lips. His own released arms lay as dead weights against his body; his entire consciousness focused on the boy in front of him.

 

The kiss felt right.

 

He thought he was scared before? Only now the fear was coupled with exhilaration and-

 

He needed to breathe now.

 

With great reluctance he tore his mouth away, panting for air he closed his eyes. Reality was encroaching on his mind again but before he did he needed to say something.

 

“I think I like you.” Behind the safety of his eyelids he could be brave.

 

A huff was his answer, he felt it blow over his wet lips and he crinkled his eyes. Fear welled up in his stomach.

 

“Aren’t you meant to confess before you steal a kiss?” The amusement was back but it was only thinly veiling a core of vibrant joy which eased some of the dread.

 

The jerk always knew how to change his mood in an instant.

 

“Shut up. At least I did something when I knew.” A laugh was his answer and he finally opened his eyes to the smiling face of his whatever-the-hell-they-were-now.

 

“Always so mean.”

 

The second kiss was executed a lot better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Kurodai drabble! Glad you guys like these two so much. This was requested by grandstander and I hopes it meets expectations. This was carried over from Train Rides.
> 
> Next drabble: Bokuaka - requested by 10kkun  
> Future drabbles: Kurodai - jealous!Kuroo + Karasuno study group feels for pipoya, Kurodai - Train Rides from Kuroo's POV for YukiMeister  
> Still taking requests!


	7. Bokuaka - Thestrals

The early morning sun started to peek over the treetops, soft watery beams of light had somehow managed to pierce the blanket of clouds and the usual threatening aura of the Forbidden Forest was softened somewhat. There were very few people up at this hour, a professor making last minute changes to a lesson, certain members of the various Quidditch teams who didn’t know the meaning of the word relax, some troublemakers sneaking back into dorms after a night well spent preparing fireworks to go off in the middle of a divination lesson and one Akaashi Keiji who was currently making his way towards the edge of the treed just past the groundskeeper’s house.

 

The Slytherin fourth-year was walking with a confidence that showed he’d come down this path many times before. One arm clasped a book and some parchment to his chest whilst the other held an apple. There was no human noise apart from the crunch of feet on leaves but the wildlife around him hummed with insects, birds and a quiet clicking of some unknown creature. Most saw the Forest as a place of fear, death and mystery but Akaashi had always derived a certain amount of comfort from the twisted branches and the constant low-key noises which hinted at the awesome power of nature.

 

It reminded him of his home town somewhat and it was a sanctuary of peace and quiet when one or two of his more rowdier friends started to get annoying.

 

He had just entered the forest, felt the trunks start to enclose around him, when he heard it; a quiet clicking-shuffling noise from somewhere to his right. Usually he would just ignore it, the truly dangerous creatures never came to the edge of the forest at this time and he’d heard many various noises since the two years he’d discovered his spot. No, what made this sound unusual was the light very-human chuckling which followed it.

 

A human chuckle which he was very familiar with; or at least familiar with the louder, more boisterous version.

 

Not quite believing what his ears were telling him he turned left around a particularly impressive oak and found his feet grinding to a halt at the odd, downright bizarre sight in front of him.

 

Bokuto Koutarou was sitting comfortably on the ground. There was a leather bag full of something that had dampened the bottom and was oozing a brownish liquid. A couple of leaves had fallen into that headache-inducing hair of his and there were several smudges of dirt on his clothes that would drive a certain transfiguration professor up the wall. The normal ear-to-ear grin was noticeably absent but there was still a smile on his face. His hands, calloused from years of ridiculous chaser training, were petting the creature standing between his outstretched legs.

 

It was a thestral.

 

Rather it was a baby thestral. The small winged black skeletal foal was quite happily letting Bokuto lavish attention on it, nickering joyfully and occasionally pausing to sniff the unknown substance in the bag.

 

Now it wasn’t unusual to see Bokuto around animals. Care of magical creatures was his best subject by far, he was a genius with animals and they were inexplicably drawn to him. He was able to calm even the most testy Hippogriff and there rumours that he’d been seen chatting to the giant squid which dwelt in the lake. The owls at the castle adored him and had adopted him as one of their own. The numerous stray cats could be found following him in between castles because the soft-hearted loudmouth would find food for them somewhere.

 

His protective streak was both impressive and terrifying; he’d once walked in on an unpleasant sixth year abusing his pet rat and the cruel idiot still turned pale whenever Bokuto entered a room. Animals came only second to Quidditch in his mind and no-one challenged him in ability in that class. It was a relief to know that there was one subject in which he didn’t have to tutor him in; their friendship, if he could call it that, was based on Akaashi helping him with schoolwork in return for Bokuto helping with his own training as a chaser.

 

He knew there were some in Gryffindor who felt angry at the deal, who felt that Akaashi was taking advantage of one of their star players. Indeed a few members of his own house had congratulated him for his ‘plan’. Truthfully, the congratulations annoyed him more than the discontented mumblings; he’d made the offer without any suspicious intentions and it had evolved past a simple transaction months ago.

 

For some reason Bokuto had taken a liking to him, he had no idea why he wasn’t the typical type of person who hung around the chaser, and had insisted on spending time together outside the library and Quidditch court. Thus Akaashi had found himself dragged around on Hogsmeade excursions, involved in outlandish plans to rescue one or two mistreated pets and spending long time outside the Head of Gryffindor’s office as Bokuto was told once again to stop releasing animals into the Slytherin boys’ dormitories, a result of an ongoing prank war with Kuroo Tetsurou.

 

All this exposure meant that he was fairly used to the other’s way of thinking and could usually predict what he would do. A cheerful ‘Hey Akaashi!’ was normal, ‘Heyyyyy Akaashiiiii’ meant that he wanted something and no greeting meant that he was in a dejected mood and would have to be lured out of it before he was able to function on a rational level. There were several other nuances but those three were the standard greetings.

 

But the scene in front of him was just so…odd that he had no idea what to do.

 

One thing was abundantly clear in his mind.

 

Bokuto could see thestrals.

 

The hand petting the foal was carefully avoiding the eyes and the thin membrane of the wings and his eyes were trained on the being in front of him with a clarity which obliterated the idea that he was just lucky with his hand movements.

 

Akaashi had been able to see the animals since the start of third year. During the summer he’d been out with his parents when there had been a terrible magical explosion at his neighbour’s house. He’d found himself jostled along to the site of the accident and had arrived just as the eighty year old witch had breathed her last. It had stayed in his thoughts for weeks afterwards but had gradually faded with the arrival of his booklist. Imagine his shock when the carriages taking him to the castle were suddenly no longer moving on their own. He’d garnered some strange looks when he’d basically jumped across the seat, wide-eyed at the terrifying looking horse-thing in front of him.

 

He’d seen them a few times since then, and done some extensive research, so he knew that while thestrals were carnivorous he was also aware that the Hogwarts herd were incredibly tame and gentle. They still bothered him somewhat, something about the gaunt skeletal bodies and bat wings which made him nervous. It didn’t help that they were considered to be omens as well.

 

Bokuto it seemed did not have that problem.

 

He was looking at the foal as if it were a newly-hatched owl chick and occasionally his eyes would flick up to the rest of the herd, standing a few metres away, and the fondness would remain.

 

The scene felt inexplicably intimate and Akaashi felt like he was intruding on something private.

 

Unfortunately, just as he decided to retreat somewhere else for peace Bokuto looked in his direction.

 

Eyes widened and the smile shrunk with surprise. For a second the two boys simply stared at each other before the foal, impatient with the lack of attention, started to whine. This successfully broke the stare-off as Bokuto chuckled, much softer than usual, and resumed his stroking.

 

“Mornin Akaashi.” He said lifting his gaze back up but continuing to pet the happy foal.

 

Realising that he was damn near gaping at the scene Akaashi inwardly shook himself and managed to reply.

 

“Good morning Bokuto-san. I didn’t expect you to be up so early.” Or at the very least he didn’t expect it to be here, if Bokuto was up early Akaashi would have bet he’d be training for the next Quidditch match not out here in the Forbidden Forest cooing at thestrals.

 

The teen shrugged in response, a happy smile on his face.

 

“Eh, I’m always down here on Wednesdays. It gets a bit loud from the others during the rest of the day and it kinda scares them.”

 

Akaashi is not so shocked that he cannot appreciate the irony of Bokuto being concerned that his fellow students are too loud for the thestrals.

 

“….I see. I did not mean to intrude I’ll leave you to your…business.” Deciding he needs at least a couple of hours to process the scene he starts to move back. Anything to escape the knowing curiosity at the back of his skull. The insistent little voice, which has been present since he first recognised the beasts as thestrals, won’t shut up. It keeps whispering one word over and over on loop.

 

_Who?_

Who had Bokuto seen die?

 

He needed to leave before that appallingly insensitive question left his mouth.

 

“Nah its fine. C’mon sit down.” He nodded to a slightly less dirty patch of earth next to him.

 

“I really should-”

 

“I’ll be quiet, promise.” There may be just the slightest hint of wryness to his smile but under Akaashi’s narrowed eyes all he exudes is open friendliness and honesty. The Slytherin reluctantly nodded and moved to sit next to the energetic fifth year. The thestral stiffened a little at the new presence but relaxed under Bokuto’s coaxing.

 

“The young ones are really skittish round people, the older ones who pull the carriages are pretty used to us. This beautiful girl was born a couple of months ago.” He gestured to one of the adult thestrals who was standing a little closer to them. “That’s her mum, real protective. I’ve known her for five years now and the minute I went to approach this new cutie she nearly snapped my hand off!”

 

Five years? So he’d been able to see them at least before he came to Hogwarts.

 

“Approaching a newborn creature of any kind when the mother is near is not a wise course of action Bokuto-san.”

 

“I know that.” This was said in a whine and Akaashi saw the other pouting out of the corner of his eye. “But she was so adorable and I wanted to touch her. Besides, she was fine once she remembered it was me.”

 

“You come here often then?” The voice was still chanting in his head but maybe he could placate it with some other information. Inside he is marvelling at the side of Bokuto he is seeing. The other teen is quiet, calm and in complete control of his actions. There is no hint that his emotions will switch from happiness to despair, the energy which leaks out of him is restrained to keep the creature relaxed and the usual twitchiness of his body has been replaced by controlled steady movements.

 

He hadn’t believed that Bokuto could be like this. Sure he was often a little calmer around animals but he never fully restrained himself like this. He was still a noisy, active, exhausting guy just with the addition of an owl perched on his head, a cat at his heels and a rat poking its head out from beneath his robes.

 

Then again he didn’t share care of magical creatures with him so maybe he was like this around the more skittish beasts. Either way it was an odd, though not unappealing, piece of his character which had been revealed.

 

“Oh yeah, I try to get down at least twice a week to bring them a snack.” He nodded at the bag, probably full of some sort of meat. “I love these guys. They’re so cute! And they’re really friendly too. Here.” And to Akaashi’s horror Bokuto whistles at one of the fully grown adult thestrals and gestures it over. His horror increases tenfold when the creature actually starts to move over to them.

 

“I-I really don’t t-think th-”

 

“It’ll be fine. Gimme your hand.”

 

“Wh-”

 

Before Akaashi can get another word out Bokuto grabs his hand and yanks him forward. The rough skin pulses warm against the coolness of his own, the elder’s completely dwarfing the younger’s but still not feeling too restrictive. Just as Akaashi has grasped what has happened Bokuto makes an irritated huff and separates his fingers with his own.

 

“No like this.” Apparently unaware of his companion’s flustered state of mind Bokuto moved their joined hands towards the awaiting thestral. Meanwhile Akaashi was too busy trying to take in what had happened as well as acknowledging the rare, for him, feeling of someone holding his hand.

 

At least he was until his palm met something other than air. The breath in his air froze as he looked up to meet glittering, white, pupil-less eyes that were made even more discomforting by the pitch black colour of the thestral’s skin.

 

Every bad thing he’d ever heard about thestrals rushed through his brain and he could just see the glinting of fangs in its mouth.

 

This was not enjoyable. At all.

 

He opened his mouth to ask, demand, that Bokuto send the creature away when the thestral let out a breath of its own.

 

“Easy, easy boy. He’s ok. You’re doing great just let him get a feel for you.” The composed encouraging tone of voice did wonders for his nerves and the knowledge that Bokuto would _never_ intentionally put his friends in danger eased some of the fear.

 

Bokuto started to move their hands up and down the creature’s nose in a rough version of a stroke.

 

It was an intriguing feeling to be sure.

 

The thestral’s skin was smooth and a little slippery, it wasn’t soft but it didn’t hurt his palm either. Not as threatening as he thought it would be and with Bokuto’s continuing murmuring in his ear it wasn’t too bad.

 

He let himself relax a little, until Bokuto let go of his hand to resume showering the foal with love.

 

“Bokuto-sa-”

 

“You’re doing fine. He likes you look.” Turning his full attention back to that thin face he gulped as the white eyes focused on him. They were….creepy yes but as his hand mechanically repeated the stroke he swore the creature looked happy? Maybe? The texture of its skin was still disconcerting but it wasn’t gross.

 

“I really love these guys ya know.” From that manner of voice he could tell that Bokuto was smiling. “They’re really amazing creatures and so beautiful but they get a really sucky reputation. ‘Omens of death’.” He snorted. “These ones are about as terrifying as a Puffskein unless you mess with their young.” A sheepish laugh at this. “As much as I hate that I can see them and what it means they’re one of my favourite animals in the world. Kinda remind me of you actually.”

 

The stroking stops for a moment. Until the thestral huffed and butted his palm.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Well their fairly isolated, people make stupid assumptions about them and think that they’re terrifying but they’re actually really sweet and cuddly. Also really protective of anyone they like, just like you can be, and they’ve got a mean bite if annoyed. I should know this little one’s teething and my fingers are covered in scrapes. They’re spectacular to watch in the air, possibly more graceful than a Hippogriff though don’t tell any of them I said that, and when they find something to be loyal to they’ll never leave. The herd has been here since Hogwarts was founded. Oh! Once you get to know them they can be friendly though they do snap at me if I get too loud for them. Heh. Akaashi? Are you ok? You look a little red. Akaashi.”

 

“I-I-I’m fine Bokuto-san. It’s just a little warm that’s all.”

 

“Isn’t it the end of Autumn?”

 

“Please be quiet. You’re disturbing the thestrals.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if anyone didn't get the message I'm an idiot who accidentally deleted this story while I was editing and had to re-upload everything again. Thankfully I still had all the drafts. Unfortunately for me this means I lost all the lovely comments and kudos you guys left which has left me very upset. I still have a list of prompts so the order wasn't lost or anything BUT can the two people who requested Kurodai - Quidditch accident and Tsukiyama - crush please leave a comment to let me know who you are so that I can keep track of who asked for what. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy my first attempt at Bokuaka requested by 10kkun!
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Kurodai - jealous!Kuroo + Karasuno study group feels for pipoya  
> Future drabbles: Kurodai - Train Rides from Kuroo's POV for YukiMeister, Iwaoi - fluff for haychiex (tumblr request), Kurodai - Quidditch injury + protective Kuroo, Tsukiyama - crush, and Kagehina - Karasuno group and rival!Kageyama + HInata for Ko_Sensei.


	8. Kurodai - Cuddle

The Karasuno study group was one of the oddest collections of individuals that had ever graced Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and given its history that was saying something. There were fourteen of them in all, fourteen students who came from each of the different houses and who hadn’t let the infamous rivalry prevent them from forming long lasting friendships. By the time the four eldest were in their seventh year the group was fairly well-known around the school. What had started as a group of tutors and tutees had turned into something much stronger and much more special.

 

The eldest of the group were all in Hufflepuff. There was Daichi Sawamura the de-facto leader, Koushi Sugawara the unofficial second in command, Asahi Azumane, mistakenly believed to be the ‘muscle’ and Kiyoko Shimuzu who helped organise activities and some of the meet-ups.

 

There were some other Hufflepuffs as well. Two sixth year students Hisashi Kinoshita and Kazuhito Narita and a fifth year called Tadashi Yamaguchi who had a strange friendship with the unapproachable Slytherin team beater Kei Tsukishima.

 

Rather strangely for a study group there was only one Ravenclaw, a sixth year called Chikara Ennoshita. He’d been dragged in by Kinoshita and Narita and had soon made a place for himself amongst the odd selection of individuals. An aura of averageness seemed to exude from him but he had a razor sharp mind and was one of the harsher tutors.

 

From Slytheirn came a duo of Tobio Kageyama, the genius seeker, and the aforementioned Tsukishima. Despite being in the same house the two would usually arrive separately and spend a majority of the time sniping at each other. It didn’t help that Tsukishima was one of the smartest there and was often the one helping Kageyama with his worst subject, transfiguration.

 

Apart from the Hufflepuffs the second biggest section of Karasuno were Gryffindors. Two sixth years called Yuu Nishinoya and Ryuunosuke Tanaka who were the reasons why it was initially called a ‘study group’ after they’d run to Daichi in their second year and begged him for help in potions, one of his best subjects. Along with them was the fifth year seeker Shouyou Hinata who still retained an intense rivalry with Kageyama. Their battles in the air were extraordinary to watch, their battles over who could eat breakfast the quickest; not so much. The last member to join was the fifth year Hitoka Yachi who was a great aid to Kiyoko in imposing a little order to activities.

 

It was a fragmented, odd, misshapen set of teenagers but it worked. Friendship bound them together when different ages, houses and abilities should have torn them apart.

 

Currently the group were in their usual hangout; the Room of Requirement. Suga had discovered it towards the end of fourth year and it had become an invaluable resource for them as they had been banned one too many times from the library due to noise complaints. The muggleborns among them also liked the room because it was one of the few places where they could access technology, though this was often interrupted by frequent questions from the rest of their friends.

 

Dinner had just ended and it was more an informal gathering than an actual studying session. Hinata was slumped on one of the beanbags, red of course, he’d gorged himself on roast chicken and potatoes so the only reason he was still awake was his determination to not fall asleep before Kageyama. Kageyama was sat a little straighter on a second green beanbag and had been rubbing his eyes for the past five minutes. In his hands was a notebook of Quidditch strategies his captain had given him to study but a stomach food of warm food, the squishiness of his seat and the lazy atmosphere in the room were causing the lines and words to blur into squiggles.

 

Noya was already gone; mouth open, a little drool dangling down, head tilted back against Asahi’s knee. He was sat on the floor by the seventh year’s armchair a book on the political implications of goblin rebellions open unread before him. Asahi was putting the finishing touches on a charms essay but he wasn’t so distracted to move his leg, aware that waking Noya would not be a fun experience for anyone.

 

Tanaka, Kinoshita and Narita were subtly attempting to flick through some comic books disguised in defence against the dark arts text books though with the way Ennoshita was staring at them they hadn’t been nearly as sneaky as they’d hoped.

 

Tsukishima was seated in his usual spot; a large silver cushion on the floor pointedly apart from everyone else. Well nearly everyone else, a sniffly Yamaguchi was sat next to him; a tissue box by his side, a blanket thrown around his shoulders and thumbing through the latest Which Broomstick. He’d caught a cold after being caught in a rainstorm a few days ago and Suga had all but put him to bed when he’d arrived today. Tsukishima was listening to music, content to block out the rest of the idiots, even though they’re being quiet for once, but he did spare a quick glance now and then for his sick companion.

 

Yachi and Kiyoko were sat at a small round table, sheets of paper spread out between them; an arithmancy test looms in the Gryffindor’s future and the other has managed to find her old notes to offer help.

 

Suga and Daichi were sprawled out on a rather battered old couch. Their ancient runes class had been particularly gruelling and Daichi had been forced to leave dinner early to deal with a commotion in the corridor. Hence the reason the room had been created with a small buffet table in the corner. The Head Boy was making his way through a sandwich while simultaneously researching for a charms essay, his best friend next to him drawing up a next week’s training schedule for their team. They had a game against Slytherin the week after and going up against the current House Cup champions was not going to be easy.

 

It was a relatively peaceful scene; quiet, subdued, low-energy. So of course it would have to shatter at some point.

 

Noya’s weight had gradually been pressing further against Asahi’s leg and eventually he slipped sideways and landed face first on the floor with a bang. Naturally this wasn’t a pleasant way to wake up and the teenager shot up with a painful yelp and a hand pressed against his now throbbing, right cheek.

 

The sound destroyed the drowsy aura of the room and caused Hinata to sit bolt upright at his upperclassman’s scream. Unfortunately the orange-haired boy had started to lean against his boyfriend’s shoulder. So when he shot up Kageyama got a strong headbutt to the chin, an impressive bruise would soon form and the members of his team would spend many joyful hours of Quidditch practice teasing him about it. The genius’s immediate reaction to the assault after he’d recovered from the stunning blow was to grab the smaller teen’s head and start to squeeze in retaliation. All the while yelling insults and curses to disguise the pain blossoming on his chin, Hinata who never backed down from a challenge started roaring back.

 

The group of sixth years had stared at the commotion and Tanaka burst out in loud heaving laughs at his housemates’ plight. Noya, annoyed at his slip and a little embarrassed by Asahi crouching over him fussing with a horrified look and multiple apologies, stood up and pointed at him.

 

“Shut up Ryu! Yesterday you tripped over the caretaker’s cat while trying to talk to that Ravenclaw girl and face-planted in a puddle of its piss!”

 

“Noya-san!” The betrayed yell was partly drowned out by Kinoshita and Narita bursting into laughter of their own and Ennoshita shaking his head and chuckling at his friends’ behaviour.

 

On the other side of the room Tsukishima had started to snigger at the idiotic chaos unfurling in front of him when a loud sneeze stopped him. Looking down to his left he felt his eyebrow start to twitch. Apparently the noise had startled Yamaguchi as well causing him to inhale some of the dust from the shelves of books dotted around. It had irritated his nose and well the result was a large unpleasantly coloured gloop of mucus on Tsukishima’s robes.

 

The ensuing moment of frosty enraged silence and babbling apologies would have been hysterical for the others if they weren’t caught up in their own arguments.

 

Yachi looked like she wanted to intervene but Kiyoko put a hand on her shoulder and gestured towards the couch. Discipline responsibility for the group lay on the shoulders of two others.

 

Suga wasn’t looking at the growing disorder though he could hear it well enough. Instead his eyes were fixed on Daichi; on the growing tension in his shoulders, the twitching muscle above his eye and the increased clenching of his fists. Suga could see the numbers going down in his head as Daichi’s anger went up and the pandemonium grew.

 

5\. Hinata was pulling on Kageyama’s head.

 

4\. Noya was torn between assuring Asahi that he was fine and yelling more secrets out about Tanaka.

 

3\. Tanaka had turned an unhealthy shade of red from anger and mortification.

 

2\. Narita was leaning on Kinoshita holding his stomach from the laughter.

 

1\. Tsukishima looked torn between throttling Yamaguchi and getting him to stop apologizing, seriously considering the first.

 

“Will you guys shut up!”

 

There it was.

 

Instant silence.

 

Frozen bodies.

 

One extremely irritated Daichi stood up with a displeased aura radiating off him.

 

No-one was stupid enough to protest. Well Hinata opened his mouth but Daichi’s eyes focused in on him like a hawk and his jaw snapped shut.

 

Taking it as his cue Suga moved over to the practically hyperventilating Yamaguchi and started to pat his back.

 

“Calm down and take some deep breaths. I’m sure Tsukishima understands it was an accident.” This was followed by a stern look at the glasses wearing boy who looked for a moment like he might protest the assertion. “Hinata-kun, Kageyama-kun please stop attempting to strangle each other.”

 

“Y-Yes mom!” Hinata squeaked out removing his hands from Kageyama’s hair. His words took a moment to sink in and he paled at the same time the others laughed.

 

It was a longstanding, but largely unspoken, joke that Daichi and Suga were the clubs parents. Hinata had done the same thing in his first year; he’d had a potions lesson and forgotten some of his equipment, Suga had run into him on the verge of a panic attack and had loaned him what he needed. The word mom had escaped the younger boy’s mouth before he could help it but Suga had only chuckled and patted his head. Daichi had become dad after numerous rescues from bullies and after-class Quidditch practice even for those not in his house.

 

The tension seeped from the room and Daichi let himself relax with a shake of his head.

 

Just another normal day.

 

After half an hour the doors creaked open and the group emerged to depart to their various common rooms. Suga emerged last after Daichi and swung his arm around the broad shoulders.

 

“You look a little tense dad. What’s on your mind?” he asked a playful but slightly concerned smile stretching across his face. Daichi snorted at the title and swung his bag as he considered an answer.

 

“Well you see mom,” a reluctant grin pulled at his mouth “Professor Takeda wants me to consider an apprenticeship with him. It’d be for about two years and there’s a chance of a good job at the end of it but…”

 

“You’re not sure if it’s what you want.” There were benefits to being someone’s best friend for nearly seven years.

 

“Yeah, I love transfiguration don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know if I can spend another two years studying it. Then I looked at some of the stuff I’d be learning and it was amazing. Potential training on how to become an animagus and things like that.” He looked torn and Suga felt his heart go out to his friend. Professor Takeda was Daichi’s favourite professor, he was the one who had introduced him to the magical world and the professor would sometimes let Karasuno crash in his office if their usual room was being used by someone else.

 

“Well how long do you have to decide?” Daichi ran a hand through his hair in agitation, Suga’s arm round him a comforting grounding weight.

 

“Ideally before Christmas but he needs to start filling in paperwork by February at the latest.” He replied wincing as his satchel banged into his shin.

 

“So you’ve got a month to think it over. Tell you what, I have to go with Hinata to the owlery why don’t I meet you back in the common room and we’ll talk about it over some hot chocolate?”

 

“Hot from the kitchens next door?”

 

“Obviously. Helga Hufflepuff was clearly born with more common sense than the others.”

 

“Yes she was. I’ll see you later dear.” This time Suga was the one who snorted and let his arm drop into a friendly shove.

 

“You too honey.” They parted with a laugh. Daichi in a slightly better mood headed down the corridor unaware of the group of Slytherin’s passing by and a certain black-haired seventh year staring after him with a frown on his face.

 

**Library**

“Whatever it is I don’t want to hear about it.” The sixth year Ravenclaw doesn’t even look up from his book, which is expertly hiding the DS console in his hands.

 

“But Kenma, you always listen eventually.” Kuroo whines tugging at his childhood friend’s sleeve. Honestly sometimes Kenma wonders which of them is meant to be the oldest. “Plus ignoring me never works.”

 

This is unfortunately true but he’s determined to put up a damn good fight. He’s just about knocked out his opponents Golbat and is determined to remain focused. One more level and his Swablu will evolve.

 

Kuroo pouts and continues to tug. He was beyond relieved when he heard that Kenma had made friends with the shorty from Gryffindor in second year but the little orange ball of energy had introduced Kenma to the muggle invention of video games. Kuroo had been battling for attention ever since. His life could be so hard.

 

Undeterred by the other’s silence he ploughs on ahead.

 

“I think something’s wrong with me. What does it mean when you’re annoyed that your boyfriend is laughing with his best friend?”

 

This causes Kenma to raise his head slightly. “Wait, are you saying that you were feeling jealous of Suga-san? You do know they’re just friends right?”

 

“Believe me, I know. I’ve known him since first year he doesn’t like him like that and I’m fairly sure Suga has his eye on someone else.” He leans forward on crossed arms to stare at the ceiling, a complicated muddle of bitterness, irritation, jealousy and want swirling in his stomach. It’s ridiculous; they don’t like each other like that. He trusts Daichi too much to suspect anything.

 

“What exactly was going on that annoyed you?” Any amusement at Kenma actually talking to him is washed under a wave of unhappiness at his current situation. He doesn’t want to be the possessive asshole boyfriend who demands that Daichi stays away from his friends. For one he’d hate himself if he ever did that. Two Daichi would punch him and dump him in the span of five seconds. Three he actually likes Suga, he’s a cool guy who has been a valued partner in embarrassing his boyfriend over the past few months.

 

“They were just talking about the future, Suga had his arm round him and they were calling each other mom and dad. Y’know that old gag about them being the parents of their little group?”

 

“Yeah Shouyou mentioned it.” Kenma carries on before Kuroo’s raised eyebrow and amused smirk turn into teasing words. “Did it look romantic?”

 

“No, there wasn’t any spark or anything. It was just close….beside I know how Daichi looks when he-”

 

“I don’t want to hear it.” He’d had to sit through one too many poetical musings on Samawura for the past few years to bear any more with equanimity. He turns off the game, the Gobat had been defeated and he had a nice new Altaria for his efforts. “So was it the closeness which bugged you then?”

 

Kuroo’s frown transforms into something a bit more serious as he considers it. He’s certain that it wasn’t romantic jealousy he was all too aware of how that felt. Daichi was a guy who drew people in, and he knew that better than anyone, and Kuroo had taken action against one or two students who didn’t seem to realise that ‘he has a boyfriend’ was a no. Friendship was fine, he had no issues with that but attempt to grope and there would be issues.

 

So why did he feel jealous?

 

The scene replayed in his head; the hand, the words, the ease which was between them and the way his adorable boyfriend had completely relaxed after only a few words. Sharing concerns about the future when sometimes Kuroo didn’t know what his plans for next month were and…

 

 

“I think it might’ve been.” He admits. Logically he knows it’s a stupid thing to get upset over. They’d been together for almost year but before that there was about five years of distrust and suspicion on Daichi’s side and five years of teasing and attempting to keep his heart safe on his. He may be able to read Daichi like a book but that wasn’t the same as real serious talks about concerns and plans. It was Suga who had been by his side since first year not Kuroo so clearly Suga was the one he’d feel most comfortable talking to.

 

It didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt just a little bit. That it didn’t cause pinpricks of jealousy to stab at his chest.

 

Fuck. This wasn’t healthy.

 

“So what are you going to do about it then?” Kenma had apparently decided to do some proper studying while he was here. Yaku would not be pleased if his younger housemate forgot to his homework again because he was playing games and the Ravenclaw prefect was terrifying when crossed.

 

“I don’t suppose burying it deep down in the recesses of my inner soul would help.”

 

“No. And I don’t think you have a soul to bury it in anyway. It’s not a healthy relationship if you’re hiding things from one another.”

 

“Have you been reading those weird muggle magazines the shorty sometimes gets from his home?” Silence is his only answer and he lets out a snigger.

 

“You’re being unusually irritating today, more so than usual. Go cuddle Sawamura and leave me alone.”

 

The thing is, that would be his typical course of action but he doesn’t want to face Daichi when he’s feeling like this so Kenma better prepare himself for extended Kuroo time. He hums noncommittally and stretches up from the desk.

 

“By the way thanks for sketching out some new plans for the team. Yaku still pissed that you’re helping us after three years.”

 

“I don’t even know why I help you with that. Both Yaku and Iwaizumi give me a lecture about team loyalty which was really long.”

 

“Because we’ve been friends for years and I pay you in those video game things you like. I’m surprised Shouyou hasn’t asked you to help his team out. The owl needs all the help he can get.”

 

“Firstly Shouyou wouldn’t ask, secondly he doesn’t know that I help you and thirdly if you tell him I’ll hex you so that every time you think about Samawura your hair will turn orange.”

 

Kuroo returns to tugging at the sleeve and sulking.

 

**Next Morning**

For most it’s the first class of the day but Kuroo has a free study period. A time he is choosing to spend lying on a bank by the lake watching the clouds drift by. He’d decided to skip his breakfast routine because he wasn’t quite ready to see Daichi just yet.

 

Yes, he knew that avoidance was a shitty tactic and he should just get over it. But he didn’t want to ruin his relationship because of his stupidity.

 

He clenched his robe tighter as a sharp breeze whistled by. The cold of winter was beginning to set in and snow was threatening to fall. A splash sounded from his right and he turned to see a dark shape shimmering just beneath the water. So the squid was still active then, the thing always gave him a hunger for calamari a fact which never failed to annoy Bokuto whenever he mentioned it.

 

“You’re gonna catch a cold like that you know.”

 

He knew that voice and warmth bloomed in his chest like normal, but this time it was tempered with some of the negative emotions of yesterday.

 

“I’ll be fine, sweet of you to worry though.” He sat up with a grin and turned to face the oncoming form of Daichi. Daichi who crosses his arms and raises a slightly amused eyebrow.

 

“The second you get ill you’ll be moaning at me to take care of you and I really don’t have time for that.”

 

“I’m not that bad.”

 

“Christmas of fifth year. We were some of the only students staying for the holidays. I found you nearly collapsed by the entrance and you refused to let go of me. I ended up spoon feeding you soup while the healer was out and didn’t get any work done for a week.” He lowers himself down on the damp grass and shifts up a little behind Kuroo.

 

“Oh yeah. That was one of the few times you were nice to me, one of my most valued memories.” Despite the sarcasm it really was. Daichi had been gentle and caring, talking to him about aspects of his life in a low soothing voice and merely nodding at whatever nonsense was spilling out of his mouth. It had vanished the second he’d recovered though.

 

A hand reaches up to pat his shoulder and he turns to meet a face that is so full of fondness and affection his breath catches in his throat.

 

“Any reason you weren’t at breakfast today? You’re team looked a little worried.” Squashing down the rising panic he snorts and leans back into the warm palm.

 

“You honestly expect me to believe that Tsuki, Oikawa, Kageyama and Akaashi were worried? Well Akaashi might but the others?”

 

“So maybe not worried maybe relieved-hiding-their-true-concern. You’re avoiding the question.”

 

“That sounds like them and I wasn’t hungry.” The hand starts moving in slow circles on his back and he wants to sink into it, wants to let himself just enjoy the attention and warmth but the niggling thoughts at the back of his head refuse to just die.

 

“Maybe, but you never miss a chance to argue with Bokuto over proper breakfast food. He was the most worried there.” He can feel Daichi start to shimmy behind him and lowers his head to stare at the lake.

 

“Not you?” He doesn’t want to feel like this.

 

“I came to find you didn’t I? What’s wrong Kuroo?” Sometimes he forgets that him knowing Daichi for years meant that Daichi knows him pretty well too, so of course he’s realised something’s bugging him.

 

“Nothing it’s just- it’s a stupid thing don’t worry about it.”  He’s meaning to turn with a reassuring smile when the hand on his back is removed. For a second his mind explodes with curses and insults before he becomes aware of two strong arms encircling his waist. His torso is pulled back until his back hits the warm wall of Daichi’s chest. He finds himself positioned between the other’s legs and a chin is placed on his shoulder.

 

With the height difference between them normally he’s the one doing the cuddling, the embarrassed blush on the other’s face is entrancing to see, but he can feel his bad mood start to dissipate.

 

“Not that I’m complaining,” and the steady thump of Daichi’s heart is so comforting to listen to that he wants to stay like this for the rest of the year, “but what’s up? Thought you didn’t like PDA.”

 

The arms tighten a little and he can feel the grin against his neck.

 

“What I don’t like is you attempting to eat my mouth in the corridor between classes. This I don’t mind.”

 

“Yeah, you’re definitely a cuddler. I’ve never heard you complain about that while I’m eating you.” He knows the grin on his face is turning predatory because memories of one or two of their more heated exchanges.

 

“Shut up and stop trying to change the subject. What’s wrong?” This time he huffs and looks away, mood souring despite the amazing feeling of being cuddled by his boyfriend.

 

“Really it’s nothing. Something in my head that’s all.”

 

Silence falls between them for a moment and he wants to just enjoy the moment but now he’s worrying again and-

 

Is Daichi stroking his hair?

 

Yep those are his boyfriend’s fingers running through his hair. It’s sweet, lulling and totally unfair. He can feel his eyes start to droop and a yawn threatens to escape his mouth. So nice. So good.

 

“That’s playing dirty.” he murmurs, snuggling further back into the embrace. He can feel the other’s laugh through his chest.

 

“I know but you can be so stubborn when it comes to telling me things I kinda have to. You tell Kenma-san everything at the drop of a hat but I have to work for it.”

 

Kuroo opens his mouth to respond when his eyes snap open, when had they even closed?, and a dawning realisation creeps into his mind. Takes in his current situation; the isolation, the cuddle, the concern and-

 

“Fuck I’m an idiot.” The fingers continue to pet him and he can feel his focus start to blur.

 

“Ordinarily I’d agree but you want to tell me why?”

 

“Believe me when I say tha- I was just being stupid over something, doesn’t matter now. Don’t you have potions now?” A squeeze by the second arm still on his waist informs him that they’re not done talking about it.

 

“Yeah but I’ve been called away to deal with a serious kitchen accident so Suga’s going to get me the notes.” Kuroo grins not only at the words but also at the lack of bitterness in his chest

 

“Serious kitchen accident ay?”

 

“Oh yes, dreadfully serious. It’ll probably take me the whole class to sort out.”

 

He’s not beaming really he’s not. He’s not absolutely dancing with joy inside because his responsible, future-concerned, Head Boy boyfriend is skipping a class just to spend it with him. It’s not that big of a deal.

 

“I wonder what could happen in an hour.”

 

“I’m not making out with you on damp grass when there’s a breeze.”

 

“But you’re not saying no to making out right.”

 

“Back to normal then?” Kuroo laughs and leans back further into the head stroking. So maybe he’s not yet as close as Suga is. He damn well intends to be and they share a different intimacy anyway.

 

“Yeah, sorry for worrying you.” And doesn’t that just make him feel all grossly warm and gooey inside?

 

“It’s fine. Can I get your thoughts on something?” A hum is his only response as sleep threatens to take Kuroo from the world of the conscious. “You see professor Takeda wants me to be his apprentice and…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still shocked at the amazing reactions this has gotten and I appreciate every Kudos and comment you guys leave. The request was for Karasuno antics and Kuroo feeling jealous over Daichi and Suga. I couldn't write it as romantic jealousy because in this world he's known them for years and it wouldn't fit so I went for him being jealous of the closeness of their friendship instead, hope that was ok. Kenma gave me such a hard time to sort and a big thank you to my friends on tumblr who let me talk their ears off about headcannons for this AU. This was requested by pipoya who I hope enjoys it along with everyone else.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Kurodai - Train Rides from Kuroo's POV for YukiMeister  
> Future drabbles: Iwaoi - fluff for haychiex (tumblr request), Kurodai - Quidditch injury + protective Kuroo for Aimee, Tsukiyama - crush for Noodoo, and Kagehina - Karasuno group and rival!Kageyama + HInata for Ko_Sensei, Bokuaka - Jealous!Akaashi for 10kkun, Bokuaka - Training for Sumi.
> 
> About requests, I am still taking them but please be aware of the list I do them in the order they are asked in. Also don't be afraid to give me some details you'd like to see or if you just want to leave it to my imagination and you can request again like 10kkun and Sumi did as well. Request either in the comments or on my tumblr which I pointed out in the first drabble.


	9. Kurodai - Train Rides 3

**First Year**

His father hadn’t been kidding when he'd said the train would be crowded. Each carriage buzzed with noise and there was so much magic thrumming in the air that it tickled his nose. He would have gone looking for a seat sooner but there had been an issue with his luggage. One of the locks had sprung open and he’d been knocked sideways by a particularly ugly brute of an older student. So the first few minutes of his journey had been spent repacking his case.

 

The train was passing through countryside now and a small bundle of nerves was starting to form in the pit of his stomach. Logically he knew there must be a place for him to sit, but come on it was his first trip to Hogwarts the first step to becoming a fully-fledged wizard and he didn’t know anyone on-board.

 

Sure there were one or two ‘family friends’ but they were only interested in sucking up to his parents and his name, he had no time for bootlickers. The Kuroo’s were one of the more isolated pureblood families, jealously guarding what was theirs and content to stay far away from the politics of the magical world.

 

Kenma, his one real friend, wouldn’t be getting his letter for another year. Aside from his own concerns about going to school he had to worry about how Kenma would fare without him for an entire year. The other boy often whined about Kuroo acting like the younger of the two  but without Kuroo there to drag him outside he didn’t the think the other would leave his house. Thankfully his parents had bought him his own owl as a leaving gift so he’d be able to badger him with letters and make sure he wasn’t just sleeping the entire year away.

 

Really? There wasn’t a single seat left?

 

He was not spending his first ever time on the Hogwarts Express standing up. If he did that his knees wouldn’t hold up for the Sorting ceremony and he refused to embarrass himself like that.

 

Invisible seats weren’t a thing they did right?

 

Wait, up ahead he could see what could potentially be an empty compartment. Speeding his pace up just a tad he looked through the door window.

 

It wasn’t empty. Sitting on one of the chairs was a black-haired boy reading a book. The boy clearly hadn’t heard him, no surprise there though Kuroo had learned early that being sneaky and quiet was an excellent way of gathering information, and seemed engaged with whatever he was reading. Hold that, his eyes may have been skimming the page but they were vacant, caught up in other thoughts than the words in front of him.

 

Good manners dictated that he should ask to sit down, or knock on the door to inform the other of his presence. But Kuroo really wanted to sit down.

 

The door was silent when he pushed it open and his shoes only made a slight thump when he moved forward. If the other boy looked up now he’d see a ridiculous scene of Kuroo carefully tiptoeing across to the seats on the other side of the compartment. Fortunately, he didn’t and Kuroo was able to plonk himself on the comfortable seat with little incident.

 

Kuroo liked to study people, it was a necessary skill in his family, and he returned his full attention to his mysterious companion. Dark brown eyes which were heavy with troubling thoughts bore down on the book. Kuroo craned his head to the side and mouthed the title.

 

The Hobbit? Hadn’t heard of that one before. The cover suggested it was a book on dragons.

 

His magic was good though. Not as crackly or loud as the ones in the previous carriage, it kinda hummed against his senses. Interesting. His body screamed discomfort and worry though; the way it was hunched a little over his book, the tense set of his shoulder line and the slight biting of his lip which Kuroo guessed he wasn’t even aware of.

 

There was only one type of student who looked like this. He’d only met a few of them before but they were some of the more intriguing of his parents ‘friends’. Time to announce himself.

 

“You’re a muggleborn right?” The little jolt that the other gave was funny and he felt a smile curve his mouth. Wide brown eyes stared back at him and he was reminded a little of a baby deer. He straightened out of his hunch and Kuroo noticed that the boy was a little taller than him. He glanced at the odd shoes and the wrapped lunch lending further proof to his guess. He hoped the other was a muggleborn; people who got to experience both worlds were so lucky and had the best stories.

 

The boy had collected himself and gave him a stiff nod in return. Kuroo felt his amusement grow, so he was annoying the other already; that had to be a record for him. This could be really fun. Letting himself lean back against the chair he kept his gaze focused on the dark-haired boy.

 

“So this must all be pretty new to you right?” New and terrifying judging by his previous posture. Probably thinking too hard instead of enjoying it.

 

“Uh, yeah. It’s a little overwhelming but I think I’ll be fine. I’m Daichi Sawamura. Who are you?” Sawamura. He ran the name over in his head dragging out the final syllable. A challenge was in that final question, so there was a backbone behind the initial anxiety. Good to know. The eyes had lost their previous heavy shade and were meeting his straight on. He wondered how he’d react to his name.

 

“I’m Tetsurou Kuroo, so how are you finding all this?” He knew he probably shouldn’t be doing this, knew how he got when his attention was well and truly caught but something about the boy- about Sawamura which drew his gaze. Was it the steel he could see glinting beneath the unsure, self-conscious air? His own curiosity about the muggle world? His slight, it was only slight, fear about not knowing anyone? The way the very air around the other screamed responsible and mature?

 

“It’s pretty amazing but I still feel out of my depth. I mean I was pretty normal before this, my dad is a salesman and my mom sells real estate so it’s a big change.”

 

He thought he was normal eh? Kuroo had seen a lot of other eleven year olds today and Sawamura was the first one to look reasonably put together instead of giggling, crying or both. But more importantly, Sawamura hadn’t recognised his name. Wasn’t looking at him with calculation, envy, or blind worship. If anything he looked ticked off; there was a spark of irritation burning on his face and Kuroo found himself wanting to poke at it.

 

“Fascinating.” He drawled in his most arrogant tone and shifted forward to get a better view. Even though he had no idea what those jobs where that particular tone never failed to annoy even the most adoring of his family’s admirers. Sure enough that spark looked big enough to turn into a flame, though the mask of politeness still remained fairly strong. A crack was present though and Kuroo wanted to hammer it until it shattered. A bad habit of his he should really find a way to control.

 

If he was as new as Kuroo thought then…

 

“Hey want to see something cool?” he asked the chocolate frog burning a hole in his pocket. He’d bought one for a snack from the trolley lady on the way down but this was a much better use of it. Sawamura was smart enough to look suspicious but naïve or hopeful enough to nod yes. Maybe he should feel a little bad about what he was going to do but it promised to be far too amusing to stop.

 

He chucked the sweet across and found himself quietly impressed when the other caught it. Good reflexes.

 

“They’re really yummy. Muggles have chocolate don’t they?” He thought they did but he wasn’t so sure.

 

“We do.” Oh yeah he was definitely cracking that mask. “Thanks.” Polite as well. How cute.

 

Ruthlessly squashing the grin that wanted to split his face he watched with bated breath as the Sawamura started to peel open the package. Nearly there, one more flap and…

 

The package slit open under the other’s hand.

 

The frog jumped on his face. The boy let out a yelp and started to bat at his own face, jumped off the seat and ran straight at the door. Where the trolley lady was waiting. As if it couldn’t get any better. A large flask of pumpkin juice had been knocked over and was now leaking down the others front.

 

It took roughly two seconds for Kuroo’s laughter to grow too strong to be held in and he collapsed against the chair holding his stomach. That went so much better than he’s thought it would. The sheer horror and embarrassment on the others face was engraved into his mind.

 

The sound of the door being slammed open snapped him out of it enough to see the end robe tails of the other sweep out of the compartment. Kuroo didn’t want him to leave, he wanted to see more looks on that expressive face, wanted to see how those eyes looked under different emotions.

 

“Oh c’mon it was funny. You’re not nervous anymore right?” The other did not look back and continued to stomp down the corridor. Feeling let down and a little petulant Kuroo rolled his eyes and moved to help the trolley lady pick up the mess. But that face stayed in his head for the rest of the trip.

 

Daichi Sawamura huh?

 

**Second Year**

He knew Kenma had gotten on somewhere. He’d shoved him onto the train himself, so where was he? What if something bad had happened? What if he was huddled away in a corner surrounded by fourth years crying for his best friend and protector? What if-

 

Was that Sawamura?

 

Yep. That was the Hufflepuff muggleborn kneeling on one of the chairs with his face pressed against the cool glass.

 

Kenma really did need to be found and he wanted to catch up with Bokuto. The look on some of his more snobbish housemates faces when they’d seen him and the Gryffindor together had been freaking hilarious. Inviting Bokuto round to their common room even more so.

 

But he’d missed seeing that face for months, missed seeing it twist with irritation, frown in annoyance and flush with rage at whatever brilliant (not stupid) thing Kuroo had done. Missed the way he would begrudgingly answer even the stupidest question he asked about the muggle world. Missed the fierce competition that would erupt between them in lessons. Missed the way that despite everything that was in Kuroo’s favour the other never backed down and always faced him as an equal.

 

He couldn’t help it. The other boy was just so remarkable. He couldn’t believe that no-one else had seen it.

 

Eager to resume their interactions he quietly slid the compartment door open. Maybe he tousled his hair just a bit. The messy glory of it always seemed to annoy Sawamura for some reason.

 

“You’ll smudge the glass if you do that.”

 

Should he feel offended that a simple sentence from him was enough to bring _that_ look to the Hufflepuff’s face?

 

“What do you want Kuroo?”

 

He’d also missed the way that it was only him who was able to get that tone from the second year. It had been a day of great pride when he realised that Sawamura had his own different voice whenever Kuroo irritated him.

 

“Is there any reason to be so hostile? I was just pointing it out. You really can be very mean Sawamura.” If there was one thing which bothered him a little it was the lack of more friendly interactions between the two of them. Kuroo enjoyed the daily verbal battles but he wouldn’t mind the odd smile because Sawamura’s smiles were mesmerising. Transformed his face from miniature middle aged dad to carefree boy. He swore that he’d seen it sparkle once.

 

They were never directed at him though.

 

“I’m only mean to you. You deserve it.” What an utter lie. On both accounts.

 

“You can be a bit unkind to that Asahi kid.” Understatement, the giant Hufflepuff looked ready to cry every time Sawamura so much as glared at him.

 

“That’s different and you know it.” That was true. Anyone else tried to take advantage of the glass hearted boy they’d come to face with an infuriated friend who despite being only a first year had managed to terrify several third year bullies. “Now what do you want?”

 

To get to know you better. To get you to smile at me. To pay me as much attention as I do to you.

 

“I just wanted to check in on my favourite Hufflepuff.” Another truth. If anything the frown darkened and Kuroo wanted to pout. What was he doing wrong? Ok so maybe antagonising Sawamura constantly wasn’t something he should continue, but it was so much fun. The other was so mature and well-behaved around everyone else it made Kuroo feel special that he could make the other act so childish.

 

“Leave and knock yourself out with a cauldron.” With that the object of his interest turned back to looking out the window. Although Kuroo doubted he was taking in the scenery judging by the ruler-straightness of his back and folded arms. The hum of his magic was starting to fizz a little and his own bubbled in response. Time for some further poking.

 

“So cruel. I’m here to say that I’m trying out for the Quidditch team this year.” Quidditch had been a love of his for many years. He’d sneak out at night with Kenma and practice moves on the hill behind his house. Soaring through the air, his muscles screaming at him as he makes another sharp turn, the whack of a quaffle against his skin and the adrenaline rush which was one of the few things that could bring a genuine smile to his face.

 

It was likely that he wouldn’t make it this year. Slytherin was ruthless when it came to Quidditch and some of the players would take one look at him and turn him away. If he could make it to the reserve team, join in on some of the training sessions then hopefully by third year, definitely by fourth, he would be a regular.

 

Sawamura was staring at him again. Shock written all over his face. Mouth ajar and eyes blown wide open as if Kuroo had announced his intention to transfer to Gryffindor and style his hair like Bokuto’s.

 

“What?! Only third years ever really make the teams. You’re insane.” Suddenly Kuroo sensed an opportunity. Sawamura looked a little bored last year once he’d settled in. The studying side of student life nothing he couldn’t handle and if puberty was kind to him then he could make the Hufflepuff team. His reflexes were great and his stamina good from chasing Kuroo round the castle. All it would need was a nudge.

 

He smirked in a way which he knew boiled the other’s blood.

 

“I think I’ve got a decent shot. I practice a lot at home and my broom’s not too bad either. I understand why you’d be reluctant though, I mean you didn’t even know what Quidditch was until a year ago. Shame you might have made a good chaser.”

 

Looking back it was less of a nudge more of a sledgehammer.

 

Cue the disgruntled anger, the insulted pride, and the refusal to back down from a challenge. Well a challenge that Kuroo had set at least and didn’t that make him feel just the tiniest bit smug.

 

“Are you say-”

 

Time to seal the deal and ensure that Sawamura would be too angry to even think about retreating.

 

“Well I gotta go, my friend Kenma is waiting for me somewhere on here. See you around.”

 

The spluttering that followed him brings a smile to his face.

 

Quidditch battles against Sawamura. That is something to look forward to.

 

What if Kenma has met Yaku and the Ravenclaw is sharing shameful stories about some of Kuroo’s less cool moments?

 

He better hurry.

 

**Third Year**

Thirteen was a terrible age.

 

Why hadn’t wizards and witches created a spell to skip from twelve to fourteen. Being thirteen sucked.

 

He looked like a child’s sculpture made of sticks and tissue paper. Everything felt too big, his skin was too stretched over his new long limbs. Clumsy was not a word he wanted to be linked with.

 

Merlin. Tsuki and the owl were going to have a field day with this.

 

Rationally he knew it was a good thing. He was tall, his muscles were going to get stronger and his hands were bigger as well. The Keeper position was closer than ever, but the awkwardness of his body was a heavy price to pay.

 

He wasn’t even going to mention the ridiculous state of his speech. The laughter wasn’t going to stop for months. He better have an amazing voice after this. An orange blur charged towards him and he sidestepped out the way.

 

The person in front of him wasn’t as lucky, grabbing the wall and curled up in pain.

 

He knew that back.

 

No. No. Please not him.

 

The owl and his housemates he could stand, barely, seeing him like this. Sawamura? No. He didn’t know why it was so much worse. They weren’t even proper friends but it was.

 

He looked stupid and-

 

The Hufflepuff looked really hurt, both eyes were shut and he was clutching his side. Pasting on his best smirk he moved forward.

 

“You alright there Sawamura?”

 

Was he taller than the other now? Despite the other’s current position it was clear that Kuroo had finally surpassed the other in height. That was going to be fun to exploit. Several short jokes flitted through his head. It was actually a little….cute?

 

Please founders, let him not have thought cute. Sawamura was not cute. He was….well he could sometimes be…..there was this one time he….

 

Anyway. Said boy was now looking at him. Scratch that he was staring at him. Those expressive brown eyes wide with surprise as he took in Kuroo’s new still changing body.

 

Sawamura was starting to change as well; he was a little taller, a little broader around the shoulders and his legs had lost that skinniness of last year.

 

Kuroo had never been more aware of his gangly body. Never wanted to disappear into a hole as much as he did then as Sawamura’s big brown eyes traced over his face and body; evaluating and judging.

 

What did he think?

 

Why did Kuroo care what he thought?

 

Sawamura was only a side obsession. Someone to be seen as an amusement. A source of fun.

 

_Someone who Kuroo admired. Who was so blasted nice and caring that at times it was impossible to make fun of him. Who stayed up until the last minute of curfew in order to practice on his broom. A muggle who had known nothing of their world that looked at each new thing with the same amount of wonder and awe that Kuroo could see the most mundane objects become special._

_Someone whose smile should be treasured because they were so pure he didn’t want anyone to ruin them._

_Someone who treated Kuroo like Tetsurou and not the Kuroo heir._

He could feel his traitorous cheeks start to redden under the scrutiny, his mind too slow for once to hide his feelings. Knowing it would be useless to hope that Da- Sawamura didn’t see it because he was staring at him so intently.

 

His robes felt too tight like the rest of his body. The toes on his feet were being squished by his shoes and he had recently banged into a low-hanging light because of his new height.

 

Kuroo was not used to looking like this and it unnerved him. Add that to the growing incredulity and, damn it, amusement in Sawamura’s eyes the flush threatened to consume his whole face.

 

Was that a smirk? Was _he_ getting smirked at?

 

Merlin’s beard that should not be so appealing. It should look stupid because the Hufflepuff hardly ever smirked but it didn’t. It was slow and….

 

Well at least he no longer looked cute.

 

“Stop staring.” He barked out, uncomfortable with the new turn of his thoughts, the silent laughter of the other and the reversed positons of their relationship.

 

Nothing was as horrifying as hearing his voice crack on the final syllable. He’d rather face a flock of enraged protective dragons than the glimmer of hilarity in Sawamura’s eyes.

 

The following laughter was a close second. Apparently the pain from before wasn’t bad enough to stop him from collapsing against the side of the train, grasping his side while huge heart-warming guffaws spilled from his mouth.

 

Shame didn’t make him angry. Wounded pride didn’t cause him to glare. A sliver of hurt wasn’t the source of his red face.

 

Daichi Sawamura looked breath-taking when he laughed.

 

Kuroo wanted to kill that line of thought before it had begun but like every other interaction it took root in his memory. He couldn’t allow it to happen. The consequences of it…he needed to go. He needed to find Kenma. He needed Sawamura to-

 

“Shut up!” Not his most creative retort but his brain could be forgiven for not running at its usual speed. All it was doing was trying to find an exit. He spun back round to walk back down the corridor.

 

That cursed laughter nearly dragged him back, snagged at his mind and pulled for him to return.

 

He made it two carriages down before he collapsed back against a door.

 

His hands ground into his skull in an attempt to wipe away the image of Sawamura laughing. The image of his face carefree, joyful and everything that Kuroo was drawn to about the boy.

 

Mostly he wanted to wipe out the feeling of his heart skipping a beat, his breath catching in his throat and the tingles which shot down his spine.

 

He didn’t succeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to do all seven years in one but then Kuroo pov kept getting away for me so I had to split it up. The second half I'm hoping to get up either tomorrow or Monday. This is part 1 of a request by YukiMeister.
> 
> I am no longer taking requests. I've got a list of 12 to get through so I can't really take anymore on. Really sorry so if you have an idea please hold onto it and I'll try to finish them as promptly as I can. I'm so excited about some of the ideas though and how well you guys have embraced this AU.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Iwaoi - fluff for haychiex (tumblr request)
> 
> Future drabbles: Kurodai - Quidditch injury + protective Kuroo for Aimee, Tsukiyama - crush for Noodoo, Kagehina - Karasuno group and rival!Kageyama + HInata for Ko_Sensei, Bokuaka - Jealous!Akaashi for 10kkun, Bokuaka - Training for Sumi, Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz, Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	10. Kurodai - Train Rides 4

**Fourth Year**

Kuroo was going to kill Bokuto. The loudmouth had thought it was an excellent idea to show off the latest pathetic stray that he’d adopted. A golden Labrador mix that apparently wasn’t housetrained. The thing had taken one look at Kuroo in the station, walked over lifted its leg and…well he’d nearly throttled his ‘friend’ after that. The only reason he hadn’t stuffed the owls hat down his throat to stop the laughter was Kenma tugging him away to get changed.

 

He ran a finger through his hair and willed himself to relax. There was a seat saved somewhere for him by Yaku and Kai so he didn’t have to worry about that. He was going back to Hogwarts after an incredibly irritating summer and soon he could dive headfirst into Quidditch practice and fourth year lessons. Kenma had gone off to meet his short friend from Gryffindor to ask him more about those muggle ‘video game’ things. It was amusing as hell to watch his socially awkward friend interact with the hyper ball of sunshine. He’d been hit by a few nasty curses for his muffled laughter but it was completely worth it not only because the shorty pulled the most entertaining reactions from Kenma, he was also part of the oddball group which a certain Hufflepuff was the leader of.

 

Unbidden a smile crept onto his face. He could easily picture the other’s face and it had crept into his thoughts an alarming number of times over the holiday. A small part of him was resentful of the hold that the other boy had over him. It made him feel like he wasn’t in full control of his mind. His body too had apparently become something of a slave to Daichi as well; teenage hormones coupled with the draw he’d felt from their first meeting had led to several locking and silencing charms on his bedroom door.

 

The fact that he was thinking about him using his first name spoke volumes about how deep he was falling. It looked like it would be a hard landing when he hit the bottom.

 

The majority of him though just wanted to be in the other’s company again, to feel the electric sparking of the meeting of their magic and to revel in his ability to provoke reactions in the other. He was aware that his means of gaining Daichi’s attention were equivalent to a three year old pulling his crush’s hair but he didn’t know how else to go about.

 

The twists and turns of their interactions had been set in stone; Kuroo irritates Daichi, Daichi reacts with yelling and/or physical contact, Kuroo secretly basks in the attention. Repeated almost daily for the past three years he had no idea, or inclination really, to alter the pattern.

 

Because change was frightening. Change could lead to rejection of the new. Possibly even an end to whatever the fuck their ‘relationship’ was currently and that was something that Kuroo was not willing to risk.

 

He opened the next carriage door and froze in place. Be careful what you wish for.

 

The object of his affections, and wasn’t that still a little scary to think about, was stood by the bathroom door staring into space. The look in those brown eyes brought Kuroo right back to first year; veiled and heavy with some unknown worry. Kuroo would have felt more concerned if he wasn’t too busy marvelling at the changes in the other.

 

Like Kuroo Daichi seemed to have passed through the most awkward stage of adolescence, though Kuroo was still a good few centimetres taller which he was thankful for. The end result was something Kuroo was _very_ appreciative of. Before announcing his presence and resuming the usual routine, hopefully lighting those eyes with anger rather than worry, he let himself indulge in a long examination of the other fourteen year old. There was still room to grow but the adorableness of the past few years was fading slightly to let a new extremely handsome factor shine through.

 

He folded his arms and let some of that admiration seep into his smirk.

 

“Bathroom’s free now you know.”

 

The immediate tensing of shoulders was partly amusing partly insulting but he loved that he was the only one who could get the usually mature Hufflepuff this wound up with only a sentence.

 

“I was just thinking. It might seem like a foreign activity to you but most people do it on a regular basis.” Wow, he really must be worried about something those words had teeth.

 

“Yes but most people are boring and I’ve always preferred to stick out from the crowd.” Another thing he’d missed, the banter.

 

“Usually for the wrong reasons.” It was spoken in a mumble but Kuroo was just able to catch it in the silence of the carriage walkway. The smirk threatened to soften into a smile but he really didn’t want the other to know the extent of the disgustingly warm feelings erupting in his chest. At least not yet.

 

Those big brown eyes finally met his when the other turned to face him. There it was. The sudden hitching of his breath. The speed of his heart reaching Firebolt levels. The threat of a blush about to appear on his face.

 

He’d kinda missed those things to.

 

A voice that sounded an awful lot like Kenma spoke in his mind calling him an idiot.

 

“What do you want?” Wasn’t that a loaded question? Kuroo stepped forward and stared down at the increasingly frustrated looking teenager. He really loved his height, no he really did because the view was spectacular and his eyes hungrily scanned over Daichi’s face taking in the changes that the summer had brought.

 

The now-familiar spark, very different from his magic, shot through his veins and he decided to tell the truth.

 

“I can’t check in on my favourite Hufflepuff?” He craned his head forward just a little further forward. Just barely crossing the line of appropriate. “I spent the whole summer pining over you.” 

 

It was sad how true that was. His summer had been weeks of arguing with himself, picturing the other in increasingly vivid situations, and simultaneously cursing and sighing over the boy who had reduced him to it. At one point he’d been close to writing a poem. The lack of any kind of contact physical or verbal hadn’t been a dampener if anything it made the rush of feelings now even more intense.

 

Pining was an apt word for it.

 

“More likely you spent a minute bemoaning the loss of a victim to mock before moving on to infuriate someone else.”

 

_Move on? From Daichi?_

_Forget about wide smiles, calm hands and a heart that cares far too much? Let go of memories of times when they hadn’t been fighting when Daichi would grin at him and it felt like successfully casting his very first spell? Ignore the traitorous pounding of his heart whenever the two of them were in the same room? Block out the constant need to be closer, to brush his hand against the other’s to throw an arm around his shoulder?_

_Move on?_

_It wasn’t just that he couldn’t, he didn’t want to either._

Saying all that might scare him a little bit so it would be better if Kuroo toned it down just a tad.

 

“I’d never move on from you Sawamura, no-one else has the same cute reactions as you.” 

 

This close he really was attractive, and he wasn’t moving backwards either. Kuroo’s eyes focused in on the red flush spreading beautifully across the spluttering face.

 

He couldn’t move closer. That would shatter everything.

 

“I-I’m not cute dammit! Now move out the way so I can get to the toilet.” Without giving Kuroo a second to move, or snap out of his dazed thoughts, the embarrassed teen stormed past him; fury radiating from him.

 

He should shut up. Should go and find his friends and-

 

“Oh yeah, those little underclassmen you’ve adopted are probably getting concerned. What’s it like being a dad at fourteen? Most teenage fathers aren’t great so I’ve got my fingers crossed that you’ll do better.” Even as he spoke the, in his opinion, brilliant comeback his eyes sunk lower down the other’s form. Clearly there had been some intense training over the summer because those legs and thighs were going to be featured in several of his imaginings.

 

He could have one more year of bickering to enjoy his crush (and didn’t that word just feel too small) stomping off in a sulk couldn’t he.

 

**Fifth Year**

Prefect carriage. Prefect carriage. Where was the damned Prefect carriage?

 

A second year carrying a fairly large cat charged past him and he just moved out of the way before he landed in a heap of limbs and white fluff. White fur was a bitch to clean off of robes. He’d heard a squeal which sounded an awful lot like Lev a few metres back and assumed that the tall Gryffindor hadn’t been as skilled in moving out the way.

 

Was that Yaku laughing back there?

 

Not important.

 

What was important was finding the Prefect carriage to confirm the obvious.

 

There was no way that Daichi wouldn’t be chosen as one. He could have been one from his first year.

 

It was Kuroo’s duty as his….it was Kuroo’s duty to check he’d made it and begin their routine for the fifth year running. None of the letters from Daichi had even hinted at him receiving the badge but if hadn’t got it Kuroo would voluntarily help Bokuto groom his ever-growing flock of school owls every day for the entire first term.

 

Not to say the letters weren’t informative. It was one of the times that Kuroo had truly smiled when Inu had returned from the muggle town with a letter clasped in his beak.

 

Daichi had replied. He hadn’t thrown out the letter Kuroo had spent far too long agonising over.

 

Since that line of communication had opened Kuroo hadn’t let a week go by without a message being sent between them and Daichi responded every time. The look that crossed in face whenever he read one of the letters had been described by his mean childhood friend as ‘disgustingly mushy’ but he honestly didn’t care.

 

On paper they could have proper conversations, without the constant need to see the reactions pass across Daichi’s face Kuroo found that he could restrain himself somewhat. A large number of flirty and sarcastic remarks were included in his but there was also sharing of memories, hopes and knowledge of the other world. It had been hilarious to watch Kenma’s face when Kuroo had beaten his high score on Mario Kart thanks to some excellent advice from his favourite muggleborn.

 

The next door looked promising if the large gold P on the front was a hint.

 

He pushed open the door and sure enough there he was.

 

Dragon shit. Letters were no substitute for the real thing.

 

It wasn’t fair for someone to look cute and handsome at the same time. How was he meant to resist that along with the responsible attitude, the kind heart, the boundless enthusiasm and the sparkling intelligence which were all a part of Daichi Sawamura?

 

He’d given up resisting long ago.

 

But he’d also given up on settling for friendship.

 

He knew it was selfish. Knew it was about as likely as Yaku growing to 7 ft. but he _wanted_. Wanted down to his bones. Wanted so hard that at times he couldn’t breathe thinking about it.

 

His Hogwarts life was not supposed to unfold like this but Founders he was glad it had.

 

The door squeaked on its hinges.

 

“Good afternoon, how was your summer this year?” Kuroo blinked taken about by the politeness of the greeting, politeness which made his skin crawl. Daichi wasn’t meant to react indifferently to him. Time to make him all endearing and pouty.

 

“I think those are the most polite words you’ve ever said to me. Really boring though. Can you go back to being all twitchy mad and cute please?”

 

That was the Daichi which exclusively belonged to Kuroo. He was the only one who got this type of anger from the prefect and he didn’t want to share it with anyone. Call him a selfish bastard but if he couldn’t have his laughter and smiles he wanted this at least.

 

“You’re not meant to be here, get the hell out of the carriage.”

 

Much better, and the angry red spreading across his cheeks was an added bonus. Kuroo pouted, Daichi hated it when he did that.

 

“Why are you always so mean to me?” But as long as he was only one Daichi was mean to he could bear it. “I just came to congratulate you on your new badge that’s all.” 

 

Really, no-one deserved it more. Kuroo felt proud for him though he felt a little worried about how much time he’d get to spend with him given he was now a prefect, a top student, leader of an extremely troublesome study group and a full time member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

 

“How on earth did you know I was going to be picked as a prefect?” 

 

He had to be joking right? Looking at the confused frown and surprised eyes maybe not.

 

Seriously?

 

He lo- liked Daichi but Merlin he wanted to shake him sometimes. Wanted to stand him in front of a mirror and point out exactly why he was so amazing. That self-doubt which lay hidden beneath the steadfastness was something Kuroo wanted to destroy, because after everything Daichi still thought he was ordinary.

 

He didn’t think he was amazing in gathering a group of misfit wizards and giving them a loyal friendship group. Didn’t see the hours of training he did for Quidditch as anything beyond normal. Didn’t realise how the other students in the lower years looked up to him because he never let any of the stupid prejudices of the magical world cloud his eyes.

 

Didn’t know how special he was.

 

Didn’t understand the way Kuroo looked at him.

 

“Who else were they going to pick?” He didn’t hide any of his bewilderment. Really who else was there who’d be a better prefect than Daichi. Suga, to his credit, was amazing at corralling the Karasuno lot but he lacked the temper and presence of Daichi to keep the rest of the school in line.

 

Daichi was gaping at him. Just a little but his mouth was definitely open.

 

Maybe it was his imagination but was there gratitude in those spell-binding eyes?

 

He didn’t know how to deal with that. It was like he was thirteen again all awkward angles and gangly limbs. The warm squirming in his stomach was something between embarrassment and bliss, his skin felt tight and not his own. It lasted a second before things clicked back to normal but it gave Kuroo the tiniest sliver of hope. A splinter of gold in his chest that he wanted to crush as ruthlessly as he did his opponents in the air.

 

“Seriously, you’re not meant to be in here. Go find a seat and settle down.”

 

OK, he wasn’t a second year. Daichi couldn’t just boss him about like he was a child. Authority looked good on him though. He raised an eyebrow as a particularly heated picture shot through his mind.

 

“Easy there you’re not my prefect Sawamura.” He leaned forward, letting a little of his thoughts shine through the usual indifferent mask. “Of course if you want to be  _mine_  I have no complaints with you being bossy at all.” It was just a little test. That sliver of hope begging him to test the waters and see if maybe there was the slightest possible chance.

 

Because with each year he was falling deeper and deeper.

 

Daichi didn’t always seem to hate him.

 

Maybe-

 

“Get out.”

 

The sliver withered and died.

 

In four years of knowing each other Daichi had never looked at him like that. Like Kuroo had just killed his owl in front of him with his bare hands.

 

His entire frame had gone tense, his hands were clenched and he looked so hurt that Kuroo wanted to apologise for whatever the fuck he had done wrong. That look sent a blade of agony through his chest.

 

Had he ruined it?

 

What had he even done?

 

“Sawamura-”

 

Was it just a misunderstanding? He was going to say sorry, genuinely because whatever had happened must have been awful to put that look on that face. The word was on the tip of his tongue. He opened his mouth to say the next word.

 

“I said leave!”

 

It’s yelled at him with such ferocity and anger that Kuroo hardly has time to think before his body reacts. He wants to ask-beg-plead to know what he did. He wants to curse himself into oblivion. Wants to say with Daichi because there could still be a chance-

 

By the time that thought crosses his mind he’s two carriages down and his chest has never hurt so much before in his life.

 

He’s so stupid. How could he even think for one second that he had a chance with him?

 

If his eyes were a little wet when Kenma finds him he blamed it on white fur irritating his face.

 

**Sixth Year**

Kuroo rolled his eyes as Bokuto stood next to him violently gesturing with his hands as he retold the story of the trapped Mooncalf in his garden that summer to an unimpressed looking Akaashi. Who was most likely unimpressed because Kuroo kept empathically shaking his head whenever Bokuto started to get too farfetched in his descriptions.

 

He knew he shouldn’t be sabotaging his friend’s effort, not after what Bokuto had done for him this summer, but it was an ingrained reflex in him to screw with the loudmouth whenever he could.

 

Even when said loudmouth was trying to impress the guy whom he had a massive, gross crush on.

 

He’d pay him back later. Along with everything else he owed the Gryffindor chaser.

 

Over the summer his great aunt, a bitter spiteful bitch of a woman whose mind-set was planted firmly in the fifteenth century, had found some of his letters to Daichi. Evil hag had been snooping round his room when she’d discovered them and the yelling hadn’t stopped for ten days.

 

Always fun to be described as a disgrace and blood traitor by your family. It wasn’t that Daichi was a male, the letters didn’t show anything but a budding friendship with some flirting, it was that he was a muggle. It had pissed him off to no end when she’d broken into his room but he’d come damn close to hexing the crone when she’d started talking about Daichi.

 

His parents had sent him to Kenma’s house so that they could talk her down but even there he found no peace from her or other relatives who came to voice their disproval of his bond with a mudblood. The cousin who had used that word had paid dearly for it. He had come so close to snapping, to breaking down and screaming at his messed up family for their prejudiced way of thinking.

 

To be fair it was roughly only half of them and his parents, mostly his mother, had been supportive. It had still made hi miserable and angry, Kenma could only do so much.

 

One morning he’d opened his temporary bedroom door to find Bokuto standing there with several bags and that typical stupid grin on his face. Before Kuroo could even get out a word he’d stepped inside and told him to pack.

 

He’d spent the rest of the summer staying at Bokuto’s house, surrounded by warmth and laughter. His family was pureblood but they had fully embraced the present and actually and several muggle devices in their home. Bokuto’s mother had taken one look at him before ushering him inside and cooking an amazing meal. He’d learned that Bokuto was almost an exact copy of his father but he got his talent with animals from his mother.

 

He’d written to his parents and Kenma, who had often visited, regularly but hadn’t moved back to his family home. It had been one of the best summers of his life; fun, loud and completely unplanned. There had been several letters from his pureblood friends who’d heard it through their families; Yaku had very nearly come down to get him himself and even Tsuki had written to make sure he was feeling well enough to practice because he wanted to win the cup this year. That letter had been saved for future blackmailing purposes. He hadn’t told anyone himself because it wasn’t anyone’s business apart from his and his medieval thinking family.

 

“I still think the best one was when your dad attempted to get that Augrey out of the chimney.” At that Bokuto stopped the thrilling calf rescue story and chuckled.

 

“Oh yeah, she really hated him didn’t she?”

 

“You could tell it was a girl?”

 

“Couldn’t you?”

 

“Not all of us are blessed with such in depth animal knowledge because our brains don’t function on an animal level.”

 

“You’re just annoyed that everything but cats and your owl hate you and want to bite you.”

 

“Yes, you’re right. I am totally jealous of all the crap that gets on your clothes from all the creature handling you do. Curse my fresh-smelling robes.” Bokuto stuck his tongue out at him and Kuroo responded with an elbow to the gut. No matter what happened this would never change. He’d always have his terrible best friend at his back ready to stand with him but also make fun of his hair at the same time.

 

“Sounds like you two had a good summer then.” He looked up to meet one of his chaser’s oddly intense gazes.

 

“We sure did. Brush-head,” a second elbow to the chest, “and I had a great time. Anyway the thing with my dad was…” Kuroo kinda zoned out of the storytelling, happy to be surrounded by his friends. He had to go find Kenma and Yaku soon, he always sat with them and annoying Yaku about anything was a quick way to pass the time.

 

He tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear the vivid retelling of Bokuto’s dad dangling from the roof, one had wrapped around an angrily squawking Augrey as he yelled for help.

 

It had been hilarious and Bokuto’s impression was spot on.

 

After such a good summer his mood was up, he felt light and when Bokuto laughed he found himself laughing along with him. He hadn’t wanted that summer to end, it had been so carefree and he had actually forgotten to worry about certain things while he was there. A hand grabbed his arm and he found himself leaning on his friend for support. This was nice.

 

“Sawamura-san.”

 

His heart stopped and he was suddenly very glad Bokuto was holding on to him.

 

This was going to be awkward.

 

Fifth year hadn’t turned out like he’d hoped. It had been terrible on the whole huge-crush-on-a-guy-who-can’t-stand-you front and his feelings had only gotten stronger. They had barely interacted during the first term but an incident at Christmas when he’d gotten ill and had found a grumpy Daichi playing nurse had repaired some of the damage.

 

He’d never asked what he’d done wrong, too afraid about repeating the mistake but it hung over the both of them for the rest of the year.

 

Not fun.

 

Ice in his chest.

 

Breaths stuck in his lungs like mud.

 

Soul rending fear that he’d never see that smile again.

 

There had been a fun incident involving a broom cupboard but it was still a little strained.

 

He steeled himself and looked over, only to blink in concern. Daichi looked like someone had hit him; wide-eyed, mouth open and some unknown tangle of emotions in his eyes that even Kuroo couldn’t decode.

 

He couldn’t read Daichi.

 

“Are you well? You look a little pale.”

 

At least one of them could speak, thank Merlin it wasn’t Bokuto because as much as he loved the guy he would humiliate Kuroo in an instant, uncaring that his unrequited crush was standing right there.

 

His unrequited crush who still hadn’t moved. Who was staring at the three of them as if they were talking Hippogriffs.

 

Kuroo wanted to ask what was wrong. Wanted to drain away that tension stiffening the other’s shoulder. But a voice hissed in his skull that the Hufflepuff wouldn’t welcome it and the words turned to ashes in his mouth.

 

“Sawamura?” Founders bless Keiji Akaashi. Kuroo was furious at himself for just standing there but he didn’t know what to do. The pattern of their relationship had changed and he was still trying to find his feet. The only thing he was sure of was that he didn’t want to lose Daichi Sawamura from his life.

 

He didn’t know how to keep him though. If he said nothing things would still change, they couldn’t go back but the future was unknown. They only had two years left before they went their separate ways, could he stand two years of uncomfortable interactions?

 

 

Even if it was just more yelling and annoyance he’d rather has that then what was currently between them. He missed him even when they were in the same class. Missed the frustration that would leech onto his face at the mere sight of Kuroo. He ached for the moments when they actually got on; a friendly pat on the shoulder, a wide grin and a clear laugh.

 

Could he get that back?

 

 

“Sorry, just doing my rounds. Actually I think I did this one at the start. Must have gotten confused. I’ll see you in school Akaashi-kun.” 

 

Oh shit, he was babbling. This was even worse. Daichi looked pale and though his eyes were now looking at Akaashi Kuroo knew he was being watched too.

 

Had Daichi somehow heard what had happened?

 

No impossible, there was no-one to tell him. He’d sworn his friends to secrecy.

 

Did he hate him?

 

The devastation of that thought nearly brought him to his knees as raw pain ripped through him.

 

He had to talk to him. Needed to clear things up, had to do something to get out of this fucking limbo they were both stuck in. He reached out a hand, this had to stop.

 

“Sawamura hold on!”

 

The door shut.

 

He’d have to catch him later at school then. Trying to ignore the stabbing in his heart he pasted a smile on as Bokuto asked what was wrong with the Hufflepuff.

 

They’d sort this out later.

 

They had to.

 

**Seventh Year**

Kuroo snorted as he saw Bokuto not so subtly drag an unresisting Akaashi towards the luggage carriage. The owl didn’t even wave hello as he pulled his boyfriend forwards, hands roaming over every part of his sixth year housemate. He should shake his head at the sight and store it as teasing material for later on but now all he wanted to do was find his own, much more adorable, boyfriend and follow Bokuto’s lead.

 

His newly made Head Boy boyfriend who he hadn’t seen all summer.

 

Boyfriend, the word still made him smile like an idiot.

 

Letters really were no substitution and hormones of a seventeen year old were no laughing matter.

 

The locking and silencing charms on his room had needed a boost.

 

His feet started moving towards the prefect carriage as he contemplated what this year meant. Graduation. N.E.W.T.S. Career choices. Quidditch matches, his last year as a captain. He refused to let himself worry too much, at least not before he got to Hogwarts.

 

The prefect carriage was up next and a fond smile curved his mouth at the grumpy Head Boy standing at the door.

 

Daichi only ever looked like that for latecomers. Some poor new prefects were in for a lecture and Daichi’s frightening stern face. It was his duty as the Head Boy’s boyfriend to keep him as relaxed and happy as possible for the good of the school. It was his responsibility as a student to contribute to the good atmosphere of the castle.

 

Sneaking up on the unsuspecting teen, Daichi had never quite managed to get used to that, he slung an arm around his shoulder. Even through the fabric of the robes his skin tingled at the contact.

 

They really needed to have some quality time together.

 

“Well you look as cheerful as ever.”

 

“Shouldn’t you be off tormenting Bokuto to celebrate the start of the year? He might get upset if you don’t plague him for a good hour or so.” This close he could feel the vibrations of Daichi’s voice and he wanted to purr at the noise. He chuckled at the reply, eager to take up the challenge of de-stressing his boyfriend.

 

“Still so mean and Bokuto’s probably a little distracted right now. I saw him dragging Akaashi towards the luggage carriage five minutes ago.” 

 

We should follow their example. Is what he wants to add but he has to play this carefully. Too strong and Daichi would just shrug him off and tell him to sit somewhere else, that he had work to do.

 

“I highly doubt Akaashi would let him get away with that.” Kuroo smirked recalling the look on Akaashi’s face; there had been a great deal of eagerness behind the usual indifferent mask. Bokuto’s hands hadn’t been the only ones roaming. He glanced at Daichi and felt his blood ignite at the heat beginning to burn in his eyes. His smirk took on a more predatory; this might be easier than he first thought. It still shocked him that Daichi wanted _him_ at times but he wasn’t a good enough guy to not take advantage of it.

 

Dropping his voice to a low murmur he leaned in closer.

 

“They’ve not seen each other all summer, even someone as self-controlled as Akaashi has to deal with tension.” They both know that the way he elongates tension is no mistake. The spark which has always been there is starting to fizz and Kuroo wants to hold Daichi now.

 

His arm is shrugged off but he’s too intent on his goal to care too much.

 

“In that case I better send one of the prefects down to fetch them. That sort of - activity is forbidden on the train.” He snorted, students had been doing it for decades and not even Daichi’s willpower could stop them now. Though imaging Bokuto’s pout at being caught would be hysterical.

 

He couldn’t do that to Akaashi though. They had Quidditch training in a week and the chaser would not let him get away with embarrassing him like that. An angry Akaashi out for revenge was one of the scariest things in the school. He moved his head back onto Daichi’s shoulder where it slotted perfectly into place. Had he mentioned that he loved being the taller of the two?

 

“I don’t think even you’re that cruel to embarrass them like that. Well embarrass Akaashi, I don’t think that loudmouth owl has any sense of shame.”

 

“Like you’re one to talk.” True. Time to step things up. He pulled Daichi flat against his chest, still marvelling that he could, and inhaled against his neck.

 

This felt more like home than his family house ever did.

 

“Let me go idiot!” The arguing was still there which Kuroo was grateful for but he didn’t want a verbal spar just yet. He smirked against Daichi’s neck so the other could feel it and decided to speak the truth again.

 

“No, I missed you.”

 

He always seems to miss him.

 

It scares him at times. Knowing how important Daichi has become to him. He doesn’t think seventeen year olds are meant to feel this strongly but Merlin he does. He doesn’t want to let go of him at all.

 

“You know Akaashi’s not the only one who wants to deal with tension.” He needs his boyfriend now.

 

“No, I’m not sneaking off with you to – I’m Head Boy now Kuroo I’ve got responsibilities to take care of.” 

 

He does but Kuroo didn’t care. He moved his head lower to start placing kisses on Daichi’s neck, taking in the taste of the other’s skin which he quickly became addicted to last year. He could feel Daichi waning, the pulse on his neck speeding up and the gulp which sends a bolt of heat down Kuroo’s spine. He let his teeth sink in just a little; leaving tiny marks in the skin and a primal part of him sits up and howls. He gripped Daichi’s hips and pulled him further into his body.

 

“You’ve always got responsibilities I think you must have been born with the word duty on your mouth. C’mon just a few minutes then I’ll be good I promise.”

 

He’s so close to convincing him and his hips rock forward teasingly. He can’t be the only one who feels like this.

 

No. He’s not.

 

The next thing Kuroo became aware of was the wall of the train pressed against his back, the hands shoved through his hair pulling his head down, and the heated mouth pressed urgently against his as his boyfriend thoroughly kissed him for the first time in months.

 

Not a bad start to the year.

 

Kuroo pulled him closer and beneath the kiss let his mouth form a smile, this wouldn’t end after graduation. He wouldn’t let the man he l….loved go for anything. He was home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is over 5000 words long how it got like that I don't know. Here's the second half as promised. Kuroo's pov is still difficult for me to write but I hope it came across OK. This was asked for YukiMeister who I hope enjoys it!
> 
> Still not taking requests but keep hold of any ideas you have and I'll try to get through these as soon as I can, all hopefully of a good standard.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Iwaoi - fluff for haychiex (tumblr request)
> 
> Future drabbles: Kurodai - Quidditch injury + protective Kuroo for Aimee, Tsukiyama - crush for Noodoo, Kagehina - Karasuno group and rival!Kageyama + HInata for Ko_Sensei, Bokuaka - Jealous!Akaashi for 10kkun, Bokuaka - Training for Sumi, Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz, Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	11. Iwaoi - Holding Hands

A couple of fifth year Hufflepuff girls squeal and wave as Oikawa passed by. With his usual smile in place he raises his hand in return and inwardly preened as the volume of the shrieks rises exponentially. A painting of a group of women from the Regency Era simper and flutter their fans in his direction, bursting into giggles when he winks back.

 

A typical occurrence for the sixth year Slytherin chaser; the only thing missing is the whack to the back of his head and an irritated voice hissing at him to ‘stop showing off like a bloody peacock’.

 

Iwa-chan could be so mean sometimes.

 

Well the voice, and the person it belonged to, would soon be by his side once again. They both had arithmancy next hour and Oikawa was determined to walk to class with his boyfriend. The Ravenclaw prefect had been forced to pull double shifts when a cold had spread like wildfire throughout the castle. Several of the prefects, including the Head Girl and the Head Boy had been struck down with the illness and were currently lying in the Hospital Wing. The Hufflepuff prefect Daichi Sawamura was running things until the others had recovered but this meant that the remaining prefects had to work twice as hard in order to keep the peace.

 

The reason that Oikawa knew this was his captain; Kuroo had been whining about his boyfriend, not unusual, and how he was working too hard to spend any time with him.

 

For once he could agree with his housemate; Iwa-chan’s partner was currently wrapped in blankets sipping hot chocolate with a blocked up nose and Oikawa had only been able to snatch a conversation or two with him in the past week.

 

It had left him a little melancholy, _not_ sulky as some may have claimed, and he was looking forward to their next class. Not only where they together lunch followed and Iwaizumi had managed to secure a free hour to eat with him.

 

His mood at its usual brightness he turned around the corner onto the corridor where Iwa-chan was surely waiting for him. It wasn’t his fault if that group of fourth year girls had blocked the exit from potions and really did his classmates, mainly the male ones, have to glare at him like that?

 

Out of the corner of his eye he could see a familiar dark head and a flash of blue on the robes confirmed it. Raising a hand in greeting he began to call out the other’s name when the words turned to boulders in his throat and sank back down to his stomach.

 

Iwaizumi was standing there; arms folded, a semi-frown in place as he half watched the throng of students migrating from one lesson to the next and judging from the growing irritation in his eyes the group of second years whispering over something, which Oikawa couldn’t see, were going to be on the receiving end of a lecture in five minutes.

 

Because in five minutes hopefully Iwaizumi would be done talking to his fellow Ravenclaw and team captain Ushijima Wakatoshi.

 

If there was one person who truly got under Oikawa’s skin it was the tall sixth year chaser. Everything about the other teen irritated him; his face, the way he spoke, his athletic ability and his intelligence. They were fierce enemies in the air and considered to be one of the great rivalries among the Quidditch teams right along with Kuroo and Bokuto and Hinata and Kageyama.

 

Hadn’t that been a surprise though? His forever troublesome underclassmen getting all hot and bothered by a player who hadn't even heard of Quidditch before coming to Hogwarts. A player who had apparently thrown up after his first flying lesson because his stomach was so upset by the movement. It had proven an excellent subject to tease him about.

 

The point was that he did not get on with Ushijima. The other was an excellent chaser, in Oikawa’s private opinion he was the best player in the school which is why he wanted to beat him one on one. The only way to get the quaffle from Ushijima’s hands was to double team him with a beater aiming a bludger towards him at the same time.

 

Oikawa had never been able to beat him in a one on one. He’d come close but victory had always slipped through his fingers.

 

He had to win against him. He needed to win against Ushijima. Needed to topple him from the throne he sat on.

 

At times it was all he could think about, it would consume his thoughts until suddenly it was way past lights out, Kuroo had told Iwa-chan were to find him and a furious, _scared_ , Iwaizumi would be next to him shaking him and dragging him back to the castle.

 

So the sight of his favourite and least favourite person speaking together sent his mood plummeting. Realistically he knew that it was stupid to resent what was likely an everyday occurrence; Iwaizumi was the vice-captain but he did resent it. The one thing he hated most about Ushijima was that he was in the same house as Iwaizumi and on the same Quidditch team whereas Oikawa could only ever face him as an enemy in the air. It was Ushijima who got to meet him in the common room, eat with him at formal meals, share in house victories and sleep in the same dorm not Oikawa.

 

What the made situation even more irritating was that Iwaizumi got on fairly well with the guy. He knew that it would be a huge problem for the Ravenclaw team if their captain and vice-captain didn’t get on but Oikawa was a selfish guy and he’d much prefer it if that was the case. It’d be much better if they spent the time glaring at each other like he and Ushijima did, well mainly just him Ushijima only really got into it when they were on their brooms.

 

At that moment Iwaizumi looked over in his direction and raised a hand to wave him over. Eager for the chance to interrupt the talk he walked briskly towards the pair just in time to see Ushijima place a hand on Iwa-chan’s shoulder.

 

Oikawa felt his eyes narrow and deep inside his mind something hissed.

 

With an extra burst of speed he jumped forward and flung his arm around his boyfriend, this had two main benefits; one it brought Iwa-chan’s body closer to his, the warmth of the other helping to ease some of the chill that had started to sink into Oikawa’s bones and two it meant that Ushijima had to remove his hand in favour of Oikawa’s.

 

Much better.

 

“Hiya Iwa-chan! Ready to go to class?” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and lifted a hand to flick the fully grown sixth year star chaser on the forehead.

 

“One second dumbass.” Oikawa pouted but his eyes were stony as he stared at Ushijima. His hand curled around Iwa-chan’s robe just the slightest and he didn’t make a move to separate their bodies.

 

“So practice is now on Saturday morning?”

 

“Yes. Is that going to be an issue for you? I know the prefects have had to take on extra duties.” Oikawa wanted to snort. People may accuse him of overworking but Iwaizumi could be just as bull-headed.

 

“Nah, it should be fine. Sawamura says that some of them should be cured by Friday so I’ll be there.” Ushijima nodded and shifted the bag hanging from his shoulder.

 

“I’ll see you then Iwaizumi,” his eyes flicked over to Oikawa and everything inside the Slytherin bristled. He could see it. See the burning need for victory in those eyes. It wasn’t as obvious as his off the pitch, but it was just as strong. Anyone who thought the rivalry was one-sided needed a head examination. “Oikawa.” He acknowledged the greeting with a glare and heard Iwaizumi groan underneath his breath.

 

“See you on the pitch.” It was said honestly, no sneering or sarcasm, a genuine respectful statement from one athlete to another. It infuriated Oikawa and he wanted to insult the Ravenclaw captain.

 

His mouth was open with the word on his tongue when an elbow dug into his side and he bent over in pain. A hand grabbed his skull to keep him facing down and when he tried to squirm away fingers dug into his hair.

 

“He will. Excuse us Ushijima-san.” With that Oikawa felt himself being yanked non-too gently down the corridor. It was difficult to sustain his balance but the hand on his head was steady if painful. When they turned the next corner the hand left and Oikawa shot back up to his full height clutching his head in pain.

 

“Ow! Iwa-chan that really hurt….and you completely messed up my hair. Ugh I bet’s it’s all poofy and stupid like Kuroo’s.”

 

“You’re a dumbass and it’s not _that_ bad yet.” The usual irritation is present, they’re walking close together and Oikawa feels a knot inside him loosen. He’d missed this.

 

“Yes it is, I must look hideous! Well as hideous as I possibly can look. Iwa-chan, we need to take a detour to the toilets so I can fix my hair!” He expects the hit to the back of his head, doesn’t stop it from being painful.

 

“Hell no! We have are not being late for class again because your being a vain idiot.” Iwaizumi huffs and turns a blistering glare in his direction, “besides, I wouldn’t have done anything if you weren’t being an asshole back there.”

 

All that tension from before rushes back and Oikawa can’t bring himself to retort back.

 

He knows he can be a rude bastard, knows that he doesn’t let people close and knows that he’s lucky that Iwaizumi has decided to stick around for some reason.

 

But he is also aware that Ushijima is a good captain, is liked by his team, polite to everybody and considered a model student by most of the professors. Sometimes, deep, deep in the recesses of mind the reason he dislikes the guy so much is less that he’s in Iwa-chan’s house and more if he’s better than Oikawa then maybe, maybe one day Iwa-

 

“Stop whatever the hell you’re thinking dumbass.” The angry voice cuts through his thoughts, as it always does, and the smack to his arm should therefore be unnecessary. He’d tried explaining this to Iwa-chan once…and received a large bruise for his efforts. He looks to see his boyfriend staring at him.

 

“Heh, sorry Iwa-chan. Let’s get to class.” If his voice is a little lacklustre then he blames it on the weather, it’s been a horrible grey day and the winds are far too strong to go out on a broom. They’re quickly becoming the last students in the corridor so their feet start to pick up the pace.

 

He seems to forget that Iwaizumi has known him far too long to not guess what he was thinking.

 

He’s running through a new type of feint in his head when he feels it. A warm, slightly sticky, brush against his hand. His skin tingles at the contact but he largely ignores it; they are walking fairly close, it’s one of the few things Iwaizumi will let him get away with in public.

 

The second brush is a little more surprising because for a moment he felt the others fingers twitch against his own.

 

They are nearly at the end of the corridor when their hands touch for a third time; firmer, for longer and the tingles are creating a pleasant hum along his hand.

 

“Uhh….Iwa-chan?” He’s not exactly sure what’s going on. Iwaizumi is red, looking unfairly adorable, and determinedly glaring at a space of air in front of him.

 

“Just stop moving your hand dumbass.” The tone is angry like normal but its effect is lessened by the blush rapidly spreading across his face. To Oikawa it’s like he’s just scored 150 points by himself and a grin starts to creep onto his face.

 

“Iwa-channnnnn.” He drawls and holds his hand out in front of them; eyes alight with mischief because of course he can’t make it easy on him.

 

Iwaizumi gives him a poisonous look but Oikawa only grins wider and nearly wiggles his fingers but he knows that if he did that it would be the final straw and Iwaizumi would knock him out with his bag before stomping off to class in an angry huff.

 

“Welllll? Don’t you want to hold my hand?” There’s a moment when he thinks he may have pushed too far but Iwaizumi gives him a soundless snarl before grabbing his outstretched arm.

 

At first it’s painful because yeah he may have teased a little too much and Iwa-chan is squeezing his hand really hard but it’s also heart-warming. He wants to throw up at the phrase but it’s true. Iwa-chan wants to hold his hand and that makes everything better.

 

They head for a flight of stairs and the grip relaxes. It’s not a light touch, nothing like a girl’s and he’s had a few girlfriends before he and Iwa-chan finally got together. The hold is strong and he can feel the hours of Quidditch practice reflected on Iwaizumi’s palm and fingers. It’s not particularly cute, two big sixth years squeezing hands as they walk upstairs; one of them looking very like a tomato and frowning straight ahead as if his head is stuck looking forward, the other beaming and attempting to the swing the joined hands only to be hissed at.

 

It’s not cute or sweet when Iwaizumi digs his nails into Oikawa’s skin and whispers furiously at him.

 

“We’re not swinging out hands moron!”

 

“But I want to swing hands Iwa-chan.”

 

“I don’t care!”

 

It’s not nice, their hands are a little sweaty and when Oikawa does manage one swing Iwaizumi punches him in the shoulder with his other hand.

 

“Oww! Why are you always so mean?!”

 

“Why are you always such an idiot?!”

 

It’s not two people in love walking hand in hand to face their future together. Who look at each other with stars in their eyes. Who think that the other is perfect and that they are about to have their happily ever after.

 

It feels like home.

 

“If I were any different you’d miss the old me.” A light squeeze at that.

 

“If you were any different we wouldn’t be like this.” Oikawa very nearly trips over his own feet but Iwaizumi yanks his hand forward to keep him upright. It’s a good thing too because Oikawa is barely keeping his feet moving and Iwaizumi has to drag him up the next few steps.

 

There is a warmth spreading out from his chest and the chill from before has gone. It will come back eventually, it always does, but for now he lets himself feel happy about everything that Iwaizumi has said and everything that remains unsaid but still heard. His heart is thumping in his ears and suddenly he’s the one squeezing their hands.

 

“Iwa-chan….” He lets the sentence hang unsure what to say, unwilling to ruin one of the few quiet moments  between them.

 

It’s not two people in love walking hand in hand to face their future.

 

It’s two best friends in love walking hand in hand to their next class. Who look at each other with clear eyes that can read the other’s thoughts no matter how well-hidden they are. Who still get into childish arguments. Who get into terrible yelling fights because they get so scared for one another at times. Who always find their way back to each other no matter what. Who can see each other’s flaws and accept them because they wouldn’t be Iwaizumi and Oikawa without yelling, whining, hitting, pouting and a great difficulty in saying how they really feel.

 

Who can understand nearly everything through a strained, and not at all cute, walk holding hands.

 

“Shut up moron, we’re nearly there.”

 

“Can we hold hands during class too?”

 

This time Iwaizumi nearly crushes his hand.

 

“Iwa-chan I have practice this afternoon!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not as confidant writing these two though I love Iwaoi a lot so I hope this turned out alright. I know that haychiex asked for no angst but they also asked for Ushijima and given the way Oikawa reacts around him it couldn't all be fluffy. It's about 85% fluff which I hope is ok.
> 
> Also if you guys have any little headcannons about this universe that you'd like to share please let me know via tumblr (I've enabled anon this time) and if I like them I'll include them. But I'm still not taking requests.
> 
> This was requested by haychiex who I hope enjoys it along with you guys.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Kurodai - Quidditch injury + protective Kuroo for Aimee  
> Future drabbles: Tsukiyama - crush for Noodoo, Kagehina - Karasuno group and rival!Kageyama + HInata for Ko_Sensei, Bokuaka - Jealous!Akaashi for 10kkun, Bokuaka - Training for Sumi, Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz, Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	12. Kurodai - Injury

The match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor was heating up. The score was 30 – 40 in Hufflepuff’s favour but the lions weren’t letting them increase the point gap easily. Noya was guarding the hoops with ferocious intensity, Hinata’s eyes were in a constant hunt for the gold speck and Bokuto’s attacks were getting stronger and stronger. Both captains were playing well and neither team felt outclassed.

 

Daichi stretched out to intercept a pass and tucked the quaffle in against his side. He could hear Bokuto curse and he swerved round to face the Gryffindor hoops before shooting off. Beyond the sharp whistling of air soaring past his ears he could hear the whoosh of another player flying alongside him. He didn’t need to look to tell who it was.

 

Inouka, another chaser was heading straight for him; arm out to steal the ball. Just as they were about to meet Daichi threw the ball to his left and dodged under the fifth year. There was a yelp but he ignored it in favour of the three hoops rapidly approaching. A short laugh caught his attention and he glanced back to see Suga flying beside him; red ball carefully held in one hand and a grin stretched across his face.

 

Moments like this; him and his best friend soaring across the pitch dodging and out-flying the rest of the field before scoring a goal, these were moments which made his blood hum and were the reason why he loved Quidditch so much. An answering smile tugged at his own mouth.

 

Suga’s grin didn’t change as he returned the ball to Daichi in order to swerve out of the way of an oncoming bludger.

 

It was up to Daichi to make the final attack.

 

The hand gripping his broom tightened and he leant down further; Noya was hovering in front of the middle hoop eyes trained on Daichi.

 

The showdown between chaser and keeper had begun.

 

Karasuno. Their friendship. Their history. The times they had helped one another. All of that faded away in this battle of the sky.

 

One had a job to score. The other to block him at any cost.

 

Noya was a fantastic keeper but Daichi wasn’t captain only for his leadership skills. Years of constant practice were carved into his bones and brain.

 

The world narrowed, he shifted the ball to his right hand, Noya tensed even further, Daichi’s broom was flying at an impressive speed and the shot would be strong, time seemed to slow to a crawl.

 

He sat up on his broom, arm extending into a shooting motion, the cheers and yells of the crowd fading as his body moved in the familiar pattern to score.

 

One more second then-

 

 

Excruciating pain ripped through his left hand. Fire tore through his veins, he couldn’t surpass the yell which spilled from his mouth.

 

The ball dropped from his grip, his whole body flinching from the agony still pulsing from his hand.

 

It hurt.

 

It hurt really bad.

 

He thought he could hear someone, Suga maybe, calling his name but he couldn’t focus on anything but the pain. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes and he took a heaving gasp of air.

 

It didn’t help as his ribs screamed in protest. Whatever had hit his hand had also managed to catch him in the chest.

 

Bludger. The small part of his mind that was still able to think beyond the hurt whispered.

 

‘You’ve been hit by a bludger. A well-aimed one at that.’

 

That was his last thought before darkness overcame him. The pain too much. He could feel the hands of gravity pull him towards the earth as his legs slipped from his broom.

 

Another yell of his name. Several screams.

 

Then blackness and blissful numbness.

 

It was looking like a good game too.

 

**Hospital Wing**

 

The first sign of consciousness came in the form of sounds. Noises which pierced the thick blanket of darkness that surrounded him. His brain was slowly pulled into the waking world by snippets of conversations, words which he vaguely recognised as important and an ever-increasing volume that only had a little to do with his growing awareness.

 

“….fault….”

 

“….bludger……hand….bone….”

 

“…..look….game….weeks…”

 

“….idiot…..hurt…..friend….”

 

The next thing he became aware of was the smell; clean, fresh and something else which tickled his nose. It was a smell which prickled the edges of his memory and his dozy mind struggled to place it. He’d been here before. Many times in fact. Mainly to check in on one of Karasuno’s more rowdier members.

 

Hospital Wing.

 

“…..step……don’t…..”

 

“….he needs…..please…”

 

Then the sense of touch started up again and owwwwww, yeah he’d been hit pretty hard. His hand was throbbing, though not nearly as bad as before, and each breath he took was tinged with splintering discomfort in his chest. He hurt. He hurt all over. How had-

 

 

Broomsticks. Red. Yellow. A ball. Suga’s smile. A dodge. Pain. Lots and lots of pain.

 

The game!

 

What had happened to the game?

 

His team. Where was his team? Was anyone else hurt? Was it still going on? Was –

 

Oww.

 

Something brushed against his hand and he let out a groan. The voices stopped but the light blinking in front of his closed eyes was blocked out by several shadows. A hand rubbed his forehead and he turned his head a little, he was up…nearly.

 

“Daichi?”

 

Worry. Fear. Relief. They all warred in that single tone and he let out a grunt. Suga shouldn’t worry about him, there were bigger problems. He squeezed his eyelids tighter as the light pricked them like blades. Light was bad. Very bad.

 

His arm throbbed again, as if to remind him that it was still there and he let out a low hiss. The whole of his body ached and the very thought of moving hurt. But he had to wake up. Had to assure Suga, and whoever else was there, that he was fine. That he’d be back up in no time.

 

Sucking in a last breath of air he forced his eyes to open. Forms and shadows blurred in front of him. The ceiling lamp stung his eyes but it was bearable this time. He blinked, once, twice and the jumble of dark objects started to sort themselves into more recognisable shapes. Suga, Asahi and Yamaguchi were all leaning over him. Suga’s hand was on his forehead, Asahi had that extremely worried look on his face which always looked ridiculous on a guy his size and Yamaguchi looked like he was about to cry. Long-formed instincts rose up inside him and a reassuring smile, more like grimace given his hand, appeared on his face.  

 

“Hey guys.” He murmured, too tired and too hurt to speak at his normal volume. “Everyone alright?”

 

Suga snorted and rolled his eyes, but one of his hands reached down to grab Daichi’s uninjured one and gave it a tight squeeze.

 

“Everyone but you idiot.” He knew he should be a little bothered by the name but Suga’s voice was fond and the fear in his eyes was quickly being chased out by the growing relief.

 

“Had to make sure.” He frowned as his brain moved at a sluggish pace to reconnect his memories. “Wh-What happened?”

 

“Well, we lost and-”

 

“This moron hit you with a bludger that’s what happened!” This voice wasn’t quiet, calm, or relieved. This voice was brimming over with anger, it wasn’t meant to sound like that. It sounded wrong. It sounded dangerous. The voice he knew very well, the tone was rare and his mind started to clear at the implications of _that_  voice with _that_ tone.

 

Despite the pain he turned his head in the direction of the voice and sure enough there was Kuroo. He was stood arms folded, fists clenched and a tenseness in his frame that sent a chill down Daichi’s bruised back. He wasn’t slouched and was using every extra inch of his full height to look intimidating, the usual air of casual laziness which followed him was gone; replaced with barely controlled fury and deadly focus. It was a look Daichi knew well. He’d only seen it a few times in the whole time he’d known Kuroo but they had been memorable.

 

Kuroo was enraged.

 

He was enraged and worse he had a target.

 

Kuroo’s anger was a terrifying thing; his clever mind and sharp tongue were used to vicious effect in order to completely destroy the cause of his ire. He was a strong wizard and even though he had a reasonable moral code he’d confessed to Daichi that in order to protect those he cared about he would cross most boundaries. Targets of that rage had been known to transfer away, those who stayed flinched whenever the Slytherin captain entered the room and it was abundantly clear throughout the school that you did not want to piss off Tetsurou Kuroo.

 

What made Daichi’s blood run cold was the target.

 

Tanaka was facing Kuroo utter misery written all over his face and body. The boisterous sixth year couldn’t even meet Kuroo’s blistering glare, too caught up in his own unhappiness. Daichi had a pretty good idea about who had hit the bludger at him.

 

The scene wasn’t just bad it was terrible.

 

Because Yaku and Kenma from Ravenclaw were stood behind Kuroo desperately trying to drag him away but the seventh year was too strong and too angry for that to work. Yaku looked seriously concerned and even Kenma had a worried frown on his face. Kageyama looked torn between helping them calm his captain and joining Bokuto in defending Tanaka.

 

Bokuto was standing partly in front of the dejected beater; posture just as tense as Kuroo’s, hands held tightly against his sides and a storm on his face as he glared back at his best friend. Noya, Hinata and Yamamoto were alternating between comforting their teammate and yelling at Kuroo to leave him alone.

 

Angering Kuroo was a mistake but so was attacking a member of the Gryffindor team.

 

Bokuto may be overenthusiastic, loud, ditzy and slightly obsessed with dangerous creatures but he was a damned good captain and wouldn’t stand to see his players picked upon. Not even by his best friend.

 

Bokuto and Kuroo never fought. But there they were; scowling at one another, trading angry words, each one upset at the situation and lashing out at the other. Even though Kuroo had responded to Daichi’s words his attention was solely on the teen in front of him.

 

“It was an accident. Tanaka was just doing his job. He’s a beater it’s what he’s meant to do!”

 

“He’s meant to deflect the bloody things away from his teammates and close to the opposing players not send them straight at their hands and chests!”

 

“Sawamura was flying faster than he thought. He didn’t mean to hurt him!”

 

“If he didn’t have a clear shot he shouldn’t have taken it. Not at that speed.”

 

“You know things like this happen Kuroo. He feels terrible about it, leave him alone! I bet you Tsukishima would have taken the shot from that position too.”

 

“Believe it or not my team don’t go out looking to injure the other. We don’t want to win that way.”

 

 

The line had been crossed.

 

Pure shock briefly eclipsed the anger on the Gryffindor captain’s face before the rage returned and he stepped forward snarling.

 

“Say that again Kuroo I dare you.” Bokuto was truly angry now. He loved Quidditch and was proud of his team and what Kuroo had accused him of was like a punch in the gut. Daichi wanted to make them stop but his throat was dry and he could barely move his arm. His team was surrounding him, as if to shield him from the escalating conflict but he could see them and it wasn’t right.

 

They weren’t meant to fight like this.

 

He wasn’t worth it.

 

Usually Suga would be trying to help Yaku but his friend looked exhausted with worry and Daichi could see the signs of fraying nerves behind the patient face.

 

“He hit him with a bludger that broke two ribs and shattered the bones in his left hand. He won’t be able to leave the Hospital Wing for three days and can’t play a game for two weeks! That’s what the cursed fool did!”

 

Tanaka flinched. Hinata started yelling at Kuroo. Noya looked like he was about to jump at him. Yaku noticed and stiffened, he may not agree with Kuroo but he wasn’t about to let his friend get attacked by his rival.

 

“Back. Off. Now. Kuroo.” The words were forced out between gritted teeth and the two teens glowered at each other. The years of friendship sinking under the weight of hurt, anger…

 

…and fear.

 

Daichi didn’t know if he was the only one who could see it. If he was the only one who could see the soul-wrenching terror that lurked behind the burning anger. The burning anger which was probably the only thing keeping Kuroo together.

 

Kuroo was scared and hiding it the only way his mind could think off. His boyfriend was being cruel, irrational, unreasonable and an asshole but Daichi didn’t care. As bad as he felt for Tanaka his worry was for the furious teen insulting him who was secretly so panicked a light tremor could be made out on his hands. A tremor that wasn’t anger.

 

“Going to remove me from the picture too?”

 

Hell no.

 

“Enough!” His voice was croaky and his throat protested at the use but he forced the words out. Struggling to sit up he felt Asahi and Yamaguchi move to help him up. Hands supported his back and he bent over to cough. The pain in his left hand gave clarity to his thoughts and when he straightened up his face was set in a displeased frown.

 

All eyes snapped towards him. Some relieved, some thankful, some guilty and two still tainted with anger. First things first he looked at Tanaka. Tanaka who hunched in on himself further and raised a hand towards Daichi.

 

“Daichi-san I-”

 

“Nice hit Tanaka. You made me drop the ball almost instantly.” He wouldn’t let the other feel guilty about it, despite Kuroo’s best efforts. Tanaka gaped at him but the guilt was still present so Daichi sucked in another breath. “It was an accident, don’t worry about it.”

 

“But Daichi-san!”

 

“I don’t blame you. People,” he took in another breath hiding the wince as his ribs pulsed with jagging pain, “get hurt all the time. Quidditch is not exactly a safe game.”

 

“You’re kidding right he-” He needed to speak to Kuroo alone, now. The fear hadn’t abated and neither had the anger. But Kuroo needed to stop otherwise Tanaka would never forgive himself and Bokuto would never forgive Kuroo for that.

 

“Tetsurou.” He bit out and Kuroo’s jaw snapped shut. Daichi knew he wasn’t playing fair, knew that Kuroo hated him just a little right now for using it, knew what using that name meant to his boyfriend but he needed to salvage the situation before someone said something they couldn’t apologise for.

 

“Could you guys give us a minute?” Suga and Asahi looked like they would refuse. “Please.” He made sure to push the pain deep down, keeping his face earnest and stern in an attempt to convince them. Suga stared at him, eyes scanning for one hint that Daichi was hurt too badly for it. Daichi met his gaze. He had to talk to Kuroo. Suga nodded and started to herd everyone out of the room. Silencing a few protesters with a “shh” and threats to get the mediwitch. Bokuto shot one final glare at Kuroo before following the group out catching up to Tanaka and whispering something in his ear.

 

Daichi was glad that Bokuto was Tanaka’s captain. He’d talk to Tanaka later but his main concern was standing tense and unhappy next to him.

 

He kept his gaze on Kuroo who was glaring at the wall next to Daichi’s bed posture screaming ‘I’m upset’ and despite his injury Daichi felt the need to soothe and comfort the other. When the door clicked shut he spoke into the silence.

 

“Tetsurou.” Hands clenched tighter, shoulders hunched forward and teeth were ground together. Daichi’s chest hurt and it wasn’t because of his ribs. He kept his tone soft, imbued it with all the care and concern he felt over Kuroo’s state of mind.

 

“Tetsurou please.” He held out his right hand, his left was encased in bandages by his side but it gave a twinge of pain at the movement. Whether it was the please or the name that got him he wasn’t sure but Kuroo’s shoulders dropped and he sat himself down on the bed. He still didn’t look at Daichi but his hand was in grabbing reach and Daichi snatched it; entwining their fingers and squeezing it. The tremor was still there and the usual tingle at contact was missing.

 

“I’m fine really. A few days and I’ll be back yelling at Noya to stop swinging on chandeliers at lunch.” The younger boy constantly said that he liked the rocking movement but it was unsafe, annoying and right above Daichi’s head. If he was expecting a grin he was disappointed because Kuroo’s face remained set in a grimace.

 

“I know it looks bad but I’ll be f-”

 

“How the fuck can you say you’re fine?” Kuroo interrupted, ripping his hand away from Daichi’s and standing up from the bed. This time he was glaring at Daichi but Daichi had known him far too long to be intimidated and the anger was starting to crumble leaving the fear to wash over him.

 

“You fell off your broom Daichi! If Suga and Asahi hadn’t caught you then…Your hand is shattered. The bones are in splinters, you must be in so much pain and-” He choked and pressed a fist to his head. Daichi had never seen him this agitated, this upset, before.

 

“I watched you fall. I heard you scream from the pain. I saw the bloody mess that was your hand, at one point they weren’t sure if you could play. Do you have any idea how I….and it was all that idiotic beaters fault! He nearly took Quidditch away from you and you defend him, as if he’d just knocked you over in the hall. Then you wake up and the first thing you ask is if everyone else is alright. You…I know exactly how much that hurts,” he pointed at the bandaged clump “so don’t you dare say that you’re fine.”

 

It would be a lie to say that Daichi wasn’t affected by the news about how bad the blow was. The idea of never playing Quidditch again sent ice running through his veins and he resisted the urge to stare at his hand. It still hurt to think that they’d most likely lost because of him but that was nothing compared to the pang in his heart at Kuroo’s words. He could vaguely relate to those feelings. Kuroo and a chaser had collided in sixth year leaving him with a broken leg. Daichi had spent as much time as his duties would allow by his side making sure that he was recovering. Watching him crash and fall had been the scariest thing he’d ever seen. He’d rather face a room full of Dementors than replay that memory.

 

The horror. The worry. The fear. It grabbed his heart in a vice and didn’t let up until his boyfriend was slinging an arm round his shoulder whining about cruel Ravenclaws who didn’t want to spend time with him.

 

The worst thing was the stillness of Kuroo when he’d been unconscious. It wasn’t natural, it was wrong, it made Daichi feel like he had lead for blood.

 

He reached for Kuroo’s arm again and rubbed his thumb in small circles on the bare wrist.

 

“Ok, I’m not fine. My hand feels like it might explode and it kinda hurts to breathe. Don’t get the nurse!” Kuroo had been about to dart away at that but he gripped him harder. “I’m probably a little off because of the amount of healing spells they used and yes alright, I’m fucking terrified at the thought of not playing again but Tetsurou,” he made sure Kuroo was staring at him when he said the next words, “it wasn’t Tanaka’s fault.”

 

“But he-”

 

“No, it was his job. Accidents happen in Quidditch, you know that, I know that, everyone who’s ever played it knows that. I will get better and I will play again so please, please don’t blame him for this. It’s not worth it; it’s definitely not worth your friendship with Bokuto.”

 

“You screamed.” Kuroo was clutching Daichi’s hand now; fear the primary emotion on his face. “You screamed and I couldn’t do anything Daichi. I was nowhere near you and you weren’t moving.” He sounded so small and afraid. Daichi tugged him down and moved his hand up to his neck. He pulled him forward, Kuroo unresisting, needing the contact as much as Daichi. Their foreheads met and Daichi stroked the short hairs at the base of Kuroo’s neck.

 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m sorry I scared you. I’m sorry you got so angry about it that you said those things. But I’m not sorry I played. Getting hurt is a risk I- we are both willing to take.”

 

“Lot easier when I’m getting hurt.”

 

“For you maybe.” Daichi whispered and felt a knot in his chest loosen at the returning sanity to Kuroo’s face. He looked softer now and his own hand reached up to cradle Daichi’s face.

 

“Did you really have to use my first name like that? Not playing fair at all.” Daichi huffed and a smile finally crossed his face.

 

“I thought you liked it when I called you Tetsurou?”

 

Kuroo chuckled and closed the scant distance between their mouths. The kiss tasted of worry, fear and relief. Daichi moved his mouth lazily in response, curling his fingers in Kuroo’s hair focusing on reminding his boyfriend that he was here, he was awake and that he was going to be fine.

 

If Kuroo held him a little too tight, if his kiss was a little desperate and the fear not quite gone Daichi didn’t say anything. Kuroo needed it. He needed it.

 

The nurse was less than impressed when she returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have been saving my feelings over the latest chapters for this one. I also touched upon Daichi's issues with self-confidence which I'm hoping to explore later on. Writing Daichi in pain and an angry Bokuto + Kuroo fight was not fun. I'm still not taking requests but please hold onto your ideas and if you just want to talk to me about this series please do! I love hearing from you guys.
> 
> This was requested by Aimee and I hope her expectations were met.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Tsukiyama - crush for Noodoo  
> Future drabbles: Kagehina - rival!Kageyama + HInata for Ko_Sensei, Bokuaka - Jealous!Akaashi for 10kkun, Bokuaka - Training for Sumi, Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz, Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	13. Tsukiyama - Crush

The realisation that he, Kei Tsukishima, has more than platonic feelings for his best, and perhaps only, friend does not come at a convenient time. It is not the result of late nights staring upwards wondering why his skin tingles whenever they touch. It doesn’t awaken slowly, a growing knowledge that there is something about this person that makes them incredibly important. It’s not even that welcome of a discovery, it makes his life infinitely more troublesome and he can’t see it ending happily. Nor is it romantic in any way imaginable.

 

What it does do is strike him like a bolt of lightning.

 

It’s the last lesson of the day, potions, and Tsukishima is just adding the final ingredients to the Wit-Sharpening potion bubbling away. The workload has gone up again and he’s already got two essays, one project and a star chart to begin this evening. Furthermore, Daichi has requested that their group meet up in the usual room to discuss a study plan for this year; Tanaka, Nishinoya, Ennoshita, Kinoshita and Narita have their O.W.L.S to prepare for and some of them will need all the help that they can get.

 

The study sessions are going to have to contain some proper studying this year and he feels a twinge of pity for Ennoshita having to control his fellow fifth years. He vividly remembers last year; Daichi, Suga and Asahi had gotten increasingly more tense as the months ticked by, their leader also seemed to be suffering from some sort of personal trouble, and even the patience of Suga had snapped.

 

Tanaka and Noya had lost all colour in their faces when the Hufflepuff had turned on them with dragon-fire in his eyes, wand clenched in a fist and an unhealthy twitch on the right side of his forehead. Asahi had refused to enter the room and Daichi had covered his mouth with his hand to prevent the irate chaser from seeing the wide grin on his face.

 

As one of the smarter ones Tsukishima knows he will be called upon to help. It’ll be annoying, frustrating and only slightly amusing. Why he will agree to help, as he did last year, is a reason he is still struggling to figure out.

 

Across from him he can see Yamaguchi hovering around his side of the table, shooting glances at his cauldron and comparing it to his own. Potions have never been his strong suit and Tsukishima foresees another year of stopping him before he blows up their shared work-desk. Sneaking a quick look over he can tell that his current attempt is of a passable standard and he won’t have to step in this time.

 

The Slytherin fourth year stares down into wide familiar eyes, there is something sticky and purple dribbling down Yamaguchi’s face which incidentally is the same liquid keeping Tsukishima’s hands attached to the stone floor either side of his best friend’s neck. Around him he could hear various frenzied yells and shrieks as whatever was previously in some troll-brained student’s cauldron continued to cause chaos. Tsukishima could find no amusement or irritation at the situation, in itself an alarming piece of information, because all he could focus on was the flustered blush spreading across a freckled face and the one word which consumed his entire brain.

 

_Cute_

 

Oh no.

 

Yamaguchi is not cute. He’s average. He’s boring.

 

He’s starting to blush a soft shade of pink.

 

He can’t handle this. This couldn’t be happening not with Yamaguchi of all people.

 

Not with the unremarkable, plain, annoying ( _hard-working, supportive, reliable_ ) boy who had apparently been attached to his side by a permanent sticking charm since first year. It still baffled him that Yamaguchi had stayed with him for that long; he knew very well that his personality was terrible, he liked seeing the effect his sharp words had on people, liked seeing the confusion and shame mix on their uninteresting faces as they registered what he said. There were very few beings that could last for long in his presence without shrivelling into shells or getting ludicrously angry and puffing up in remarkably accurate impressions of a blowfish.

 

Yamaguchi was one of the few who stayed. In the early days of their relationship Tsukishima had done everything in his power to drive the small little Hufflepuff away from him; insults, avoidance, open declarations that he didn’t like him and the occasional well placed charm to trip him up while he made a speedy exit. Yet every day he’d exit the Slytherin common room to the sound of “Tsuki!” and a stupid grin on the face that he was fast becoming accustomed to.

 

Out of everyone in the school it was the shy, unassuming half-blood who was stubborn enough to stay by his side.

 

The turning point had been in third year. He’d been badgered into trying out for the Quidditch team by two equally aggravating people and one tolerable one. Daichi had caught him flying during the Christmas holidays of second year and had managed to persuade Tsukishima to help him with his own practice as they were some of the few students remaining at school over the break. Admittedly it had been fun but he still wasn’t sure he forgave the prefect for what happened next. He’d let it drop that Tsukishima had decent flying skills in front of Koutarou Bokuto and Tetsurou Kuroo and Tsukishima hadn’t had a peaceful week since.

 

He’d made the team fairly easily but Quidditch held a bittersweet flavour for him; old memories of his brother, toy brooms and a sickening discovery. The training had been gruelling, it had been something to see that the lazy aura which surrounded Kuroo was just a misleading the disguise; the keeper was one of the hardest working members of the team probably only surpassed by Oikawa who took it to frankly dangerous levels. The aching bruises, lack of leisure time and his own personal experiences meant that he’d only done the minimal amount required and it wouldn’t have been long before some other hopeful had replaced him as a beater.

 

At least that’s what would have happened if not for Yamaguchi.

 

The memory flickered past his eyes layering that angry, passionate face on top of the dazed, slightly frightened one below him. A fist clenching around his collar. A meek voice imbued with a core of steel. Eyes that would struggle to raise off the floor burning into his brimming with conviction and inner fire.

 

Their friendship, and it had become a friendship after that, was one of the most important things in Tsukishima’s life; though he’d rather face a Norwegian Ridgeback wandless than admit it.

 

So suddenly discovering that he was reluctant to move from his position above Yamaguchi, rather he’d quite like to close the scant distance between them was extremely unwelcome.

 

Forget reasons of family, social status, reputation, prejudice none of them crossed his mind following his epiphany.

 

The only thing he could think about was how if Yamaguchi ever found out or somehow developed telepathy it would mean the end of their friendship.

 

Some would say these were only the panicked musings of a fourteen year old boy experiencing his first crush, a perfectly natural crush on his adorable, loyal best friend. That Tsukishima didn’t need to worry so much, that there was a good chance the feelings would fade over time. Maybe a few would even dare to suggest that his certainty of his feelings being one-sided was false.

 

Unfortunately, none of these things were told to Tsukishima at the time he really needed to hear them. It was unlikely that he’d even believe them anyway but it would have perhaps spared the two of them the emotional turmoil of the next few years.

 

No, the only feeling growing in Tsukishima’s potion-splattered chest was dread. He wasn’t stupid enough to go for denial, the truth had flared bright and sharp in his mind there was no point in trying to refuse it but he wished he could. For once he actually wished he could be like Tobio Kageyama and bury himself so deep in denial he’s convinced he sees his crush as an enemy.

 

But he’s Kei Tsukishima so he won’t deny it. He will hide it behind ten metre high stone walls spelled with every single protection charm he knows, he will refuse to act on it and he will do his upmost to avoid spending one second of his time thinking about it. But he won’t deny it.

 

Won’t deny the steady warmth pumping through his veins as he stares wide-eyed down at Yamaguchi, won’t deny that it chases the coldness that has been with him for so many years.

 

He can’t like it. Can’t allow himself to hope.

 

Because Yamaguchi is far too special for someone like him to spoil.

 

A shriek from one of the Slytherin girls finally pierces through his thoughts. Yamaguchi blinks, the link is cut and Tsukishima attempts to sit up.

 

The purple goop on his hands refuses to let him move off the floor. Craning his head round to the right he can see the professor struggling to detach a mysterious student from the wall. The reason why the student is mysterious is completely the fault of the large splodge of the blasted purple gunk plastering him or her to the wall, covering their body but not enough that the muffled yells can’t still be heard.

 

Normally this would be a fairly funny sight but Tsukishima really wants the professor to be with them, helping unstick his hands from the floor.

 

“Ugh Tsuki.”

 

Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about how nice his voice sounds compared to the unpleasant loud cacophony of noise which surrounds the other teenagers he has to associate himself with.  Don’t think about how small the other seems under his tall frame. Don’t think about the embarrassed flush spreading across both of their cheeks, both for very different reason.

 

“I can’t move.” He explains, and attempts to sit up again, muscles straining against the liquid-which-might-have-been-cement but all he succeeds in doing is adding further to his discomfort; he’s on top of Yamaguchi with tense muscles and grunting from the attempts to move.

 

“Ah, right.” Very, very awkward silence. Apart from the occasional yelps and curses from their fellow classmates it might as well be just the two of them. Tsukishima wants to scream at him to move because the longer they stay like this the more warmth he’s absorbing, the cold is still receding and that can’t happen for much longer. He knows he’ll have to return to the cold and the more time he spends in the warm the harder that will be.

 

“Move Yamaguchi.” The glare feels false and heavy on his face. The words drop like stones from his mouth. Normally Yamaguchi would be able to tell that he wasn’t angry but he’s discombobulated by the fall and Tsuki seems to be pissed at him.

 

“O-Oh! Right! Of course, I’m really sorry Tsuki, I just didn’t think and-”

 

He’s still not moving and Tsukishima prays to the Founders for help. Maybe they’ll take pity on him and the floor will turn into a portkey taking him to a pit full of Basilisks. Dealing with the spirit of death made flesh might be better for his state of mind than this.

 

“Move.” He barks out and this time the message gets through. Yamaguchi yelps and scrambles backwards on his hands, the purple on his forehead has trickled down to his neck but in his fright it has clearly slipped from his mind.

 

“S-Sorry Tsuki.” He grunts in response turning to look back at the professor; unwilling to look at his friend any longer than he has to, not with his recent revelation still at the forefront of his mind.

 

That doesn’t stop the image of Yamaguchi’s appalled, apologetic, purple-stained face from leaping into his head and staying there. He can feel a smile, an honest to Merlin smile, creep onto his face. If it were anyone else they’d be facing a blistering glare but Yamaguchi has always only escaped with a sigh, a frown or a shaken head.

 

He has always been Tsukishima’s exception.

 

That train of thought needs to stop….

 

Right now.

 

He’d stop any second. He could control his thoughts. He refused to fall prey to his hormones.

 

(And steadfast friendship, unwavering support and constant belief)

 

“T-Tsuki, do you want me to try and pull you up?”

 

…Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this is shorter than the others but I wasn't confidant enough to write more. I've never written either of these two before so I wanted to just kinda test the waters with them and see how I went. I hope that I've left some potential for future drabbles on them. This was requested by noodoo. Hope everyone likes it!
> 
> In other news I'm still not accepting requests but I am looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested. I'm really bad at reading my own work and some help would be appreciated! Also please feel free to just talk to me, I love sharing thoughts about this au with other people, listening to their views and just about HQ! in general.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Kagehina - Rivals for Ko_Sensei  
> Future drabbles: Bokuaka - Jealous!Akaashi for 10kkun, Bokuaka - Training for Sumi, Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz, Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	14. Kagehina - Rivals 1

Push. Pull. Action. Reaction. Victory. Defeat. Their relationship was often described as a series of competitions. Contests issued by one from which the other could never back down. Each of which, once initiated, would continue until victory was achieved by one of the two stubborn boys, admitting defeat not an option for either rival. This was their questionable relationship; a constant motion of initiation, retaliation and victory.

 

They pushed each other to the top. It was impossible to imagine one without the other; to imagine that stony glare without the loud enthusiastic voice bouncing along beside it.

 

It all started with a challenge and the rest is history.

 

**First Year**

Kageyama finds himself frowning at the large stack of luggage looming over him and glances back down at his hands clutched tightly around one of his most prized possessions; his broom. He can just see it getting snapped in two by a slightly unbalanced trunk during the impending train journey. All it would take is one sharp or sudden turn and BAM, this essential piece of his quidditch equipment would be history. Just the thought of this highly improbable incident is terrifying, and he reflexively brings his broom closer to his chest.

 

Tobio Kageyama loves to fly. He loves the feeling of perfectly executing a dive or a swerve. He revels in the whooshing of air streaming past his head. He never feels awkward in the sky, he only feels strong, focused and frankly, so alive it hurts his heart. The strip of polished ebony in his hands is arguably more a part of him than his wand.

 

So no, he’s not going to entrust a piece of his soul to the Hogwarts Express luggage carriage. It’d be much safer if he himself watched over it for the ride.

 

(It’s a piece of home, comfort and security; the key to his strength. Strength he will need to face the unknown that lies before him. No-one laughs on at him when he’s on his broom.)

 

With a decisive nod he turns to leave ignoring the rather odd look the guard gives him as he walks down towards the seated carriages. It’s highly unusual for a first year to be taking a broom, but several letters from his parents and an example of his skill had been enough to receive special permission to bring it with him.

 

(Another thing to separate him from the others. Once they learned about his abilities, what would happen? How long would it be before the jealous whispers started?)

 

He pushes open the door and starts to look for an empty seat; with any luck he can find somewhere fairly quiet or maybe sit with one or two of the older students who at least would be content with ignoring him. The noise of the train’s powerful engine is a constant sound in the background, and focusing on that is helpful in blocking out the hustle and bustle of the first years like him filling the train corridors. Engaging in activities such as yelling at each other and oohing and ahhing at every single minute occurrence, Kageyama’s loud and easily excited fellow first years looked like they would get on his nerves rather often. He has never liked crowds and the one or two oblivious students that are unlucky enough to brush against his broom are treated to a glare of which no eleven year old should be capable.

 

Compartment after compartment is full of clamour and chaos. His grip tightens and he resists the urge to flinch at each and every noise; he doesn’t feel secure on the ground, but in the air he is untouchable. A glimpse at the last area of seating in the carriage causes some relief. It’s empty of first years, and the only other occupant is a third year with his head in a book. It’s exactly what Kageyama had been hoping for and his steady walk increases to a jog in order to escape the din of his current surroundings.

 

Looking back maybe it was that decision, that simple choice to speed up in order to reach a potential sanctuary, which would shape the rest of his life at Hogwarts. A single movement of a clock hand. A flap of butterfly wings. The first of the dominoes falls.

 

Shoyou Hinata collides with Tobio Kageyama.

 

A ball of orange meets him halfway to the compartment. Bodies meet with a painful ‘oof’ and Kageyama suddenly finds the floor much closer to his face than it had been a couple of seconds ago. There is an answering thud from the thing that crashed into him, but what silences his mind and blankets it in a sea of red-hot fury is the quiet splintering of a wooden handle. Now this wouldn’t have been a very big deal if said handle hadn’t belonged to his _treasured broomstick_. Heart slowing in his chest he glances down eyes scanning his broom with laser focus for flaws, and there, just in the centre of the handle, is a tiny crack with a sliver of wood hanging off. It’s nothing too serious, and he should be able to fix it relatively easily with his broomstick repair kit. He’s had worse breaks from the training he puts himself through, and it’s probably his fault as well for speeding up, but-

 

It doesn’t matter.

 

The stress of leaving home, the cacophony of sights and smells in the station, the racket of the train, the worry of the newest phase of his life, and crucially the damage to his broom.

 

Was it any wonder he snapped?

 

“Oh wow! I’m really sorr-” The genuine apology was not something Kageyama wanted to hear.

 

“What’s the matter with you idiot? Watch where you’re going!” He interrupts looking across to glare at the boy sprawled on the floor in a mirror position of him. The first thing he notices is the mess of orange hair; wild, messy and also… poofy? That’s the only word he can think of to describe it. The boy is tiny, he looks swamped in his robes and the wide confused brown eyes aren’t helping his overall image of a lost child. What does help though, is the sudden spark of anger in those eyes as the stranger registers Kageyama’s words.

 

“Hey, it was an accident! I didn’t mean to. You were running too you know.” The boy is loud, and Kageyama can feel distaste forming a lump in the back of his throat. He runs his thumb over the new crack in his broom and glares at the annoyance in front of him.

 

“I wasn’t running I was walking quickly.”

 

“They’re the same thing!”

 

“They are not! There’s an obvious difference between a fast walk and a run dumbass.” Neither of them moves to get off the floor, each boy too preoccupied with scowling at the other.

 

“No there isn’t! And even if there was you were still moving quickly so it’s your fault too.”

 

“Is not!”

 

“Is too!”

 

“Is not!”

 

“Is too!”

 

Maybe Kageyama should feel more concerned about how he is responding to the short redhead in front of him. It’s not natural to get so riled up after a first meeting but something about the boy; his presence, his hair, his voice, his eyes, _something_ gets under Kageyama’s skin and forces him to respond.

 

“You damaged my broom!” He finally forces out. Not because he lost the thrilling ‘is not/ is too’ argument, but because he wants to prove that he was right for getting mad. The other boy’s face drops at that and the righteous anger shown in the redness of his cheeks deflates. He looks down for a moment, but soon raises his head; the anger still there, but Kageyama can see vague traces of remorse as well.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Kageyama feels his own rage die down; not completely gone, but no longer at the same furious level. “Wait? A broom? You mean we can fly too?!”

 

Anyone else would reasonably assume that the question and the tone of wonder that it was asked in all pointed to the fact that the boy was most likely a muggle-born wizard- someone who would need help adapting to a world in which most wizards had lived in since they were born, a person who would find the most boring of magical objects amazing. But Kageyama, to whom flying was as necessary as breathing, did not realise this.

 

“What do you mean ‘we can fly’? It’s a broom moron of course it flies.” He still doesn’t realise his mistake when the other colours, an embarrassed blush spreading across his cheeks as anger becomes the dominant emotion once more.

 

“Well this is all kinda new to me mister snobby! Why do you have a broom anyway? None of the other new kids did.”

 

“I’ve got special permission. I need to practice if I want to make a Quidditch team.”

 

“Quidditch. What’s that?” Even then the message doesn’t sink in.

 

“You’ve got to be joking. How big of a dumbass are you that you don’t know what Quidditch is? It’s only the biggest sport in the magical world!” ‘And someday I am going to play for a national team,’ he wishes to add, but refrains for fear of disbelief or scorn. This ambition is constant in the back of his mind; a strong burn that occasionally consumes him.

 

“Well I’ll find out what it is and then I’ll get much better at it than you!”

 

A moment frozen in time. Gears slipping into place. The timer starting.

 

Kageyama knows he should laugh, should smirk, should sneer and walk away. It’s what any sane person would do, but those eyes- those naïve, stupid eyes stare back at him with a blazing fire that he can’t bring himself to turn away from. This boy isn’t intimidated, he isn’t even scared, he’s only angry and determined. Incredibly determined to beat the boy in front of him, Kageyama, a boy who must be at least one- if not two feet taller than him. Unwillingly, a thrum of excitement pulses through Kageyama’s body. There is no hesitation that he can see, only a will of steel. Maybe, maybe-

 

“Tch, you didn’t even know brooms could fly before just now. There’s no way you could make a Quidditch team. I have no time for someone whose feet are stuck on the ground.” Pride forces the words from his mouth, and he finally stands up to move to the semi-empty compartment. He hears the other get up but looks doggedly forward.

 

“My name is Shouyou Hinata and I’m going to be the best player in Hogwarts. You hear that you jerk?!” His hand pauses on the doorknob and he glances back just slightly taking in the clenched fists, the pathetic attempt at a glare and the defiance coming off him which he can practically taste.

 

“I’m Tobio Kageyama and _I_ will be the best.” He enters the compartment. The boy- no, Hinata runs off.

 

A rivalry begins.

 

**Second Year**

“Can anyone tell me the incantation for turning a bird into a goblet?”

 

“Avifors!”

 

“Flintifors!”

 

“I’m sorry Kageyama-kun that is incorrect.”

 

“Ha!”

 

“You’re wrong too Hinata-kun.”

 

“Dumbass.”

 

“Jerk-faced tombstone.”

 

Professor Takeda sighs as two of his favourite, though admittedly worst, students begin bickering. It’s a routine that has being going on since first year, and frankly, it looks unlikely to change. He wishes the two would get along because they are two of the sweetest boys that he knows, just not to each other that is. They also have several friends in common, but the two of them mix just about as well as werewolves and dragons.

 

Kageyama counts it as another victory for himself because he answered first. The mulish pout on Hinata’s face shows that he reluctantly agrees and it puts Kageyama two points ahead in their… whatever in Merlin’s name it is between them.

 

-

 

The two stare at each other from across the empty hallway with wands raised. Kageyama can’t quite believe he’s doing this, there’s a slim possibility that he might be able to get on the team this year, but if any of the teachers or older students find out he’s here, then that chance will be gone.

 

Why is he here?

 

Why is he staring straight ahead of him to meet the challenging stare of Hinata?

 

Why can he never back down? Why can’t Hinata back down either?

 

The sound of students moving above and below them is of no importance, and the consequences of what they are about to do are shoved to the back of his mind. The only thing that matters to him at this moment is the irritating Gryffindor in front of him. It’s not even about House rivalry with them; sure they throw insults about Slytherin and Gryffindor to one another, but it’s simply another battlefield for them- another way to fight.

 

The current situation is taking everything one step further.

 

A duel, even between second years, is no small thing. Yes they know there is a duelling club where it could be carried out safely, but there’s a chance that they’d be paired with someone else and neither of them wants that. It had been announced a few days ago that the club would accept second year members, and he’d automatically looked for Hinata. Another competition. Another challenge. It was Kageyama this time who initiated it but he was well aware that Hinata was thinking of doing just the same.

 

(How odd that he can tell what the other is thinking. How strange that he knows this boy better than any of his friends or teammates.)

 

They’re not even following the proper rules. Simple rules that his family had taught him- that classified duelling as a sport rather than a fight. Should they sto-

 

Hinata raises his wand and Kageyama’s thought process is cut off as his mind focuses on another, more important matter.

 

There is only the two of them.

 

(As it should be.)

 

“Expelliarmus!” A nice wand movement, but the aiming is off and the red beam of magic hits the stone wall. Kageyama takes a step forward his wand raised, his eyes locked on target.

 

“Flipendo.” The Knockback jinx meets it’s mark, and Hinata is spent spinning through the air in an orange blur. He lands with a satisfying thud. Victory is sweet in Kageyama’s mouth.

 

(It always is against Hinata, and defeat is tinged with the determination to win the next time. There will always be a next time with Hinata.)

 

He focuses back on the disappointed pout, the undeterred desire to win on a smudged face and the wand clenched tightly in one hand.

 

“One more time!” He scoffs, even outside their competitions Hinata is an annoying idiot who he can’t stand. He doesn’t see why Suga-san and Daichi-san like him.

 

“Fine. You must really like being knocked on your ass.”

 

“The next one on the ground is going to be you, you moronic toe-rag.”

 

Hinata is definitely winning in the insults division though.

 

**Third Year**

“So I hear you and Hinata got into another fight at breakfast this morning.” Kageyama feels a flush start to crawl up his neck. Suga is a person he greatly respects and likes, so even though there is no hint of criticism in the kind boy’s words, only a fond exasperation, Kageyama feels as if he has let his upperclassman down. He can’t bring himself to meet Suga’s gaze and the knowing he would see in them.

 

This is all Hinata’s fault! If the idiot hadn’t run into him this morning, then they wouldn’t have gotten into an argument in the middle of the Great Hall in the first place. They’d both earned a detention from the Divination professor and that was extremely troublesome. It meant that he’d miss practice this week, and he could already hear his captain’s voice reprimanding him. Kuroo was a harsh taskmaster, not that Kageyama complained, it was one of the things he admired about his captain, and he was not looking forward to Tsukishima and Oikawa’s snide comments about ‘battling with chibi-chan’. Those two were infuriating, and Akaashi would not be impressed; the quiet disproval was not something he was looking forward to.

 

It’s all Hinata’s fault.

 

He grunts in response and tries to burn a hole in his Charms essay with his eyes. He knows Suga means well but Hinata is a touchy subject for the seeker.

 

(Like always.)

 

“Can I ask what it was about?” The tone remains the same but Kageyama flinches inwardly at the question. How can he explain to Suga that it was about a collision but at the same time it was about so much more? How can he explain nearly three years of rivalry and dislike? How can he put into words their relationship? How can someone decipher the strange connection that links them? A connection that captures them both- that forces them to compete, to struggle, to overcome one another.

 

How can he tell Suga that battling with Hinata is as thrilling to him as being on a broomstick? Like he’s strong. Like he’s free.

 

(Like it’s where he belongs.)

 

“He ran into me with his breakfast, and got milk stains all down my robe.”

 

He can’t.

 

“I’m sure it was an accident.”

 

It was, but that wasn’t the point. He glances to the left and can see Noya-san and Tanaka-san speaking to a sulking Hinata. They meet eyes for a second, and a thought passes between them.

 

This is our thing. This is what we do. They don’t understand.

 

“I was followed around by cats to all my lessons.” He states and the stifled laugh of surprise from Suga definitely doesn’t help his pride at all. He picks up his quill to start the next paragraph. “Is this correct Suga-san?” He jabs at the previous section, and Suga bends forward to look.

 

He knows Karasuno wants to ‘fix’ their relationship, but it isn’t broken.

 

It works for them.

 

-

 

It’s the first Slytheirn vs Gryffindor match of the year, and Kageyama hovers just above the pitch- eyes searching for that elusive glint of gold on which he’s pinned everything.

 

Oikawa is scoring steadily, although Noya is managing to frustrate him little by little. Akaashi remains unruffled as usual after a good goal, and he thinks he hears Bokuto-san congratulate him as they fly past. The chaser then curses Kuroo as the keeper blocks another shot.

 

He’s where he belongs. Here he is strong. Here he feels invincible.

 

King of the sky they’ve taken to calling him. Untouchable by others, alone and isolated amongst the clouds.

 

That’s not true though.

 

A commoner is rising and the sky is not so empty anymore.

 

“Better not zone out now Kageyama, I want to beat you at your best.”

 

It turns out that Hinata is a natural on a broom. He’d also grabbed the attention of Bokuto who had been giving him training tips and knowledge about the sport, those of which the muggle-born severely lacked. Quidditch Through the Ages may have been the only book Hinata had read all the way through. Kageyama had seen the tryout, had seen him shoot through the air like a small firework; nimble, fast and focused. There were plenty of mistakes to be fixed, but at his core was a seeker, a seeker who had frightening potential. Potential that perhaps one day could surpass Kageyama’s own.

 

“You couldn’t beat me at my worst.”

 

But not today.

 

Hinata opens his mouth to respond when suddenly, he it snaps shut. He’s seen the same thing that has Kageyama clenching his broom handle.

 

A flash of gold.

 

They are off.

 

Dives parallel to one another, hurtling towards the ground at terrifying speeds, eyes fixed on the same target.

 

They pull up.

 

 

 

Soar past the chasers. The only player the other sees is his rival.

 

Everything else is unimportant.

 

Only the snitch and _him_ \- the one pushing him to new heights and forcing him to dig deep into the reserves of his strength. He’s being chased instead of submitted to. Winning isn’t inevitable. He could lose.

 

And it’s _thrilling._

 

They are flying flat out along the centre of the pitch. Side by side, green and red whirling into one mass of colour.

 

Hinata is good.

 

Kageyama’s hand shoots out. Muscles screaming at him. He doesn’t notice.

 

But he is better.

 

The feeling of that tiny golden sphere enclosed in his hands is the sweetest feeling he’s ever known. He holds it up for the crowd to see and they erupt at his triumph. The one time he is fully embraced by the students of Hogwarts. This is the feeling which got him addicted to Quidditch. This is what pushed flying from simply a hobby to a way of life.

 

The delicious weight of gold metal in his palm.

 

Only this time it is twice as sweet because he has earned it. Because he had to play at his very best.

 

He looks across at a dejected Hinata and feels a smile pull at his mouth. An honest happy, slightly giddy smile, and the words that spill from his mouth are untainted by anger or dislike.

 

“Good game Hinata.”

 

-

 

“Hey what are you guys doing?” Kageyama was on his way to Care of Magical Creatures when he heard it. The voice recognised before the sentence had even been finished; the confused worried tone was foreign, and something clenched in his stomach.

 

The sounds are coming from a rarely used hallway and he starts walking towards it without a second thought.

 

“Oww!” He increases his pace to a jog, worry forming a ball in his throat. The corner is turned and Kageyama takes a second to look at the scene before him.

 

Hinata is being held up against the wall, limbs flailing in an attempt to squirm free. The guy holding him is a burly older student- either a fourth or fifth year from Ravenclaw, and next to him are two Slytherin’s standing with crossed arms and pleased smirks. Kageyama recognises them; they are two of the more prejudiced members of his house and had gotten detention several times for their uses of slurs against muggleborns.

 

Muggleborns like Hinata.

 

Hinata who has a red eye that is beginning to swell. Whose wand has been tossed away. Who looks utterly confused and bewildered as to why these strangers are doing this to him.

 

“Stupid mudblood doesn’t even realise when he’s being beaten up. And we’re supposed to believe this is the future of the wizarding world?” 

 

The word cuts the air like ice. Kageyama sucks in a breath as a fury, one not like he’s never known before starts to burn in his gut. He’s not so out of it though that he doesn’t see Hinata flinch at the word, that foul loathsome word, proving that the short redheaded boy knows what it means after all. The only way he’d know what it meant would be if he’d been called it before, and he’d asked what it meant. The thought does nothing to calm the irrational rage taking over his body.

 

How had Karasuno missed this?

 

(How had _he_ missed this?)

 

The Slytherin closest to Kageyama moves forward with a fist raised, and Kageyama _moves._

 

His wand is raised before he even realizes it.

Hex after hex. Jinx after jinx. Every possible offensive spell he’s ever learned, his family had prepared him well, is fired off at some point. Lights of blue, white, red and purple shoot from his wand.

 

They don’t have a chance to retaliate.

 

This anger is calm, focused and deadly. A blade of steel that cuts down its target with precise cuts.

 

His magic strains at the amount of spells, but he carries on. Their yells don’t matter, the noise doesn’t bother him.

 

He has to get them away from Hinata _now._

 

Smoke is beginning to cover the hallway but his eyes don’t lose sight of them. The fleeing backs of the ones who were hurting his rival. He raises his wand for one last spell but then-

 

“Kageyama wait!”

 

A small but powerful grip grabs his arm, and the incantation doesn’t leave his lips. He looks down, eyes ferocious, only to see Hinata staring defiantly back.

 

(He always meets his gaze, even with a damn swollen eye.)

 

“Enough. You’ve done enough.”

 

He is panting, his anger is unsated. He wants to hurt them more. Wants to make them regret ever laying one finger on the boy clutching his arm. The one who is currently the only thing saving their sorry asses from being hexed to pieces. How can he save them? Doesn’t he know what they did?

 

But the look in those eyes doesn’t change and Kageyama lowers his arm.

 

“Oh and thanks. Thanks for saving me.”

 

Hinata is smiling at him. Not as wide as usual, not as big, but still bright. Bright and happy. That hasn’t changed. He got there in time.

 

Something from the past few years melts away and Kageyama feels his shoulders drop, a reluctant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

 

“Don’t mention it idiot.”

 

The first seeds of friendship are planted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the slightly later update I've been really busy the past few days and this has turned into another 2-partner. I have a beta reader now who has done a wonderful first job and should hopefully prevent any future errors though this does mean updates will be a little later because of different time zones and the whole editing process. I'm not as confidant with these two but I'm generally fairly pleased with the result. This was requested by Ko_Sensei and I hope they and you guys enjoy it. Part 2 is still being written but should not take too long.
> 
> Requests are still closed.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Bokuaka - Jealous!Akaashi for 10kkun  
> Future drabbles: Bokuaka - Training for Sumi, Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz, Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	15. Kagehina - Rivals 2

**Fourth Year**

 

“Lean forward a bit more idiot; you’ll end up falling off your broom if you sit like that!”

 

“I’m trying, it’s really hard!”

 

“Of course it’s hard! If being a seeker was easy there wouldn’t be only one or two students trying out for it each year. Stop making excuses!”

 

“I’m not! I’m just saying that I’m not going to get it first try, and you yelling all the time isn’t helping!”

 

“You’re yelling too!”

 

“No I’m not!”

 

“You yelled just now you moron!”

 

Kageyama was on the verge of throttling his fellow fourth year. His hands were clenched around his own broom, and he could feel a vein on his forehead pulsing with irritation.

 

Why had he even agreed to train with Hinata again? Despite their fragile friendship, they still argued about seventy percent of the time and, when it came to Quidditch, Kageyama was an extreme perfectionist. His teammates knew it, Karasuno knew it and, though he didn’t like to admit it, he knew it too. He wouldn’t be happy unless every last detail was perfectly in line. So when Suga had suggested joint training for everyone during the few weeks without matches, he’d leapt at the opportunity. What he unfortunately hadn’t expected was to be paired with Hinata of all people. During the time in which they’d been a part of the Karasuno study group, there had been a couple of mixed practices like this, but he and Hinata had gone to opposite ends of the pitch, the training back then usually incorporating frequent glares at one another from across the field.

 

However, this practice, Daichi-san had told them to use only one end of the field in order to make proper use of the space and, in his words, to ‘strengthen their bond’. The piercing look that the seemingly placid sixth year had given him and Hinata was one that Kageyama had only seen a few times before-fortunately never directed at him in particular- and forewarned him that, if they so happened to fail in said bond-strengthening endeavours, they would be facing _dire_ consequences.

 

Kageyama most definitely did _not_ want to have to face Daichi-san’s legendary rage, and so here he was, and after watching Hinata’s questionable techniques for about five excruciating minutes, he’d dismounted and merely started suggesting-definitely not yelling of course- tips for the other. Hinata was a natural on a broom yes, but he, unfortunately, was enormously lacking in the technique department, and honestly, as long as he suffered from that particular deficit, he would never advance from his current status of promising beginner and successfully become a true challenger of Kageyama’s.

 

Kageyama wanted to fly against a Hinata who was at his best, an elite seeker who would be able to push him to, and past, his limits. He wished for a true rival.

 

However, this wish of his was going to forever remain at that- a wish- if the dumbass if front of him didn’t start listening to something- no scratch that- listening to _anything_ he said. Every word or piece of advice that passed through his lips seemed to go in one ear of the oblivious ginger and right out the other. He felt oh-so-tempted to seek out Suga and see if maybe the upperclassman’s peaceable force could assist in talking some sense into the orange-haired headache, but after remembering the way that Suga beamed whenever he saw the two rivals walking together, studying together or generally just being together without hating one another, Kageyama was having second thoughts about that course of action. He didn’t want to disappoint the upperclassman with yet another of his and Hinata’s pointless fights.

 

He rose a hand to his head and wiped away the sweat, taking the opportunity to settle his anger.

 

(He just wanted Hinata to be strong, wanted to have an aerial battle like no other, wanted to win with every ounce of strength in his body.)

 

Hinata pouted and stared at the floor, and Kageyama felt his eyes threaten to roll, but managed to suppress it as he brought his wandering train of thought back into focus.

 

“Just get back on your broom, you idiot. Hover about a metre off the floor.” It looked for a moment as if Hinata would argue, but the determined boy’s desire to improve and the piercing glare that Kageyama was sending him helped detour him from that route of action. With barely a grumble he mounted his broom and lightly pushed up into the air.

 

Nodding once, Kageyama stepped forward and placed his hands over Hinata’s own. Even though both of the boys had their hands buried inside thick gloves, Kageyama was somehow still aware of the waves of heat emanating from Hinata’s well-circulated hands. His skin greedily sucked up the warmth that the bouncy redhead was providing; warmth that could only be described in his mind as, well, Hinata-like. It flowed throughout his body enveloping his each and every limb and when he lifted his own gaze to meet the smaller boy’s, the fire and determination that he glimpsed shining within Hinata’s irises jolted him; sending sparks shooting down his veins. This was the vigor- the _electricity_ that exploded within his chest only when he was around Hinata; the flame-headed boy whose hair so perfectly matched his fiery personality. Kageyama couldn’t find it within himself to explain why the smaller boy’s proximity affected him in this way, and so he incessantly passed it off as simply the thrill of being near his rival; the only one in his sights with the potential to match, and possibly even surpass, Kageyama’s abilities.

 

Now, however, was not a time fit for such frivolous insights; it was, in fact, a chance for Kageyama to spend some time coaching Hinata into becoming the well-established and talented seeker of which his overwhelming potential spoke of.  And so, Kageyama carefully adjusted Hinata’s grip on the broom, one of his hands rising to push Hinata forward shifting the boy’s weight and centre of gravity. Hinata was unusually obedient in letting Kageyama guide his body and fix his position, which puzzled the taller boy slightly until he quickly shrugged it off focusing back on the task at hand.

 

Kageyama only moved back once he was satisfied.

 

 

“There. Try it again.”

 

This time Hinata executed the dive perfectly, and if Kageyama were looking a little smug later that day, well, no one but Tsukishima would blame him.

 

-

 

“I-I-I re-really l-like you H-Hinata-kun.”

 

Kageyama froze on his way out of the classroom. Up until that point it had been a fairly normal Transfiguration lesson; he’d managed to complete the assignment, turning a guinea fowl into a guinea pig, with minimal trouble. Professor Takeda had beamed at him and congratulated him even though he was among the last to do so. The class had ended and he was looking forward to walking with Hinata to the Great Hall for lunch. He had found this new Quidditch move from a book in the library, a complex dive and swerve, and he had wanted to discuss possibly practicing it with the other boy. ‘Cool’ moves like that usually had the short seeker salivating.

 

This was unexpected.

 

Who on earth would ever think that a girl would confess to Hinata?

 

They were usually the last two to leave, so it had been a little odd when he saw the Gryffindor girl lingering around her desk when all her friends had already left. Professor Takeda was absorbed with some paperwork on his desk although Ukai, the flying coach, would probably be knocking at the door soon to drag him away for a meal.

 

He should have left. It was a private moment that he really should not have even heard. It was none if his business.

 

(Yes it was. Hinata was _his_ rival.)

 

Yet his body seemed to have been hit by a freezing charm because he couldn’t take one step further out the door. His back was to them, but he could hear every word.

 

(What was Hinata going to say?)

 

“R-Really?”

 

He sounded shocked, completely gobsmacked, but… but he didn’t sound unhappy. Hinata couldn’t talk to girls; he always went red and spoke in a murmuring stammer when they were around. The only girls he could even hold a conversation with were Yachi and Kiyoko. What the hell would he even do with a girlfriend?

 

“Y-Yes, e-ever since th-third year w-when I saw you in a m-match.”

 

Could she only speak in a stutter? Didn’t Hinata find her quiet squeak annoying too?

 

(She couldn’t have him. She didn't know him.)

 

“Oh w-wow! I do really- hey Kageyama! What are you still doing here?”

 

(What was he feeling? He didn’t know. It was too confusing.)

 

Turning with a frown he ignored Hinata’s intimidated yelp and scanned the girl up and down.

 

(She was fairly pretty. Petite. Glossy brown hair. Nice face. Kageyama didn’t like her one bit.)

 

“Waiting for you idiot, you want lunch or not?”

 

“Of course I want lunch you jerk! Just,” Hinata glanced at his blushing companion and Kageyama’s chest tightened; he couldn’t breathe.

 

(Why did he feel like this? Why did it hurt when those eyes looked away?)

 

“Just give me a minute. Why don’t you head down and I’ll catch you on the way?”

 

(Refuse. Refuse. Refuse. Refuse. Make him leave with you.)

 

“Sure.” Kageyama shrugged and walked out the door. If he weren’t so confused he would marvel at his acting skills, he sounded fairly nonchalant.

 

What if Hinata accepted? What would having a girlfriend, and didn’t that word taste like stinksap, change?

 

Nothing, Hinata would still be a Quidditch-obsessed idiot who wanted wholeheartedly to beat Kageyama… right?

 

(What if it did though? What if she took him away? What if she monopolized all his attention? She did it just then by simply standing there. What if he wanted to spend all his time with her?)

 

What if Hinata stopped chasing him?

 

His heart was unusually heavy and the venom in his words at lunch surprised even Tsukishima.

 

Hinata didn’t show up.

 

**Fifth Year**

The sunlight shined, filtered through the windows, and Kageyama shifted to hide from it. It’d been an amazing celebration last night, Nishinoya had insisted on a Karasuno party for his birthday. Despite Daichi’s insistence on only a small amount of alcohol, when the Room of Requirement had opened there had been several boxes of firewhiskey, butterbeer and nettle wine. The high five’s that sequentially occurred between Noya and Tanaka had not been subtle.

 

It had gotten steadily wilder until it reached its climax when Tanaka had challenged his fellow sixth years to a drinking contest. Naturally the whole group had been sucked into it and he only had a few fuzzy recollections of what happened after his third bottle of firewhiskey. He didn’t usually drink but Hinata had challenged him and…

 

He attempted to wipe his eyes- attempted because, for some reason, he found himself unable to do so. His hand was stuck, or, more accurately it was being held by something with a force that even a Giant Squid would be in awe of. Brain still sluggish from last night he tried again to tug his arm free, but the force only increased. Awareness coming easier now with the development of the mystery he woke up and found himself in, he tried to move his other hand only to realise that it was holding something, or well, someone he figured out as he craned his head down to see what exactly was in his arms.

 

His face met a fluffy orange head.

 

Suddenly his body was replaced by a Kageyama statue. His limbs felt as if they’d been carved out of rock, his blood turned to ice and his brain stalled as he realized that the person nestled in his arms, face pressed against his chest and clinging tightly to his arm was Hinata himself. Kageyama’s other arm was curled around Hinata’s back and pressing him closer, but suddenly it stiffened as the raven-haired boy finally comprehended that-

 

(They’re cudd-)

 

No they weren’t!

 

At a loss over what to do he looked around the room in the hope that one of the older students was awake and willing to help with, hopefully, only a minimal amount of mocking which, of course, meant that he either wanted Suga or Daichi.

 

Sadly, no one else was up. As he grew more accustomed to his surroundings he saw that there was a pile of sixth years, including the birthday boy, in one corner who seemed to have built a miniature nest out of cushions, beanbags and pillows and were snoring quite loudly. Asahi was lying on the couch with a blanket wrapped round him, mouth hanging open and feet coming off the end. Yachi and Kiyoko were on the rug with pillows and blankets looking enviably comfortable. Suga was close by, curled up into a ball, but Kageyama couldn’t see Daichi anywhere. He vaguely remembered something about an early shift the next day for the Head Boy and he felt sorry for the unlucky Hufflepuff. Given how much alcohol the head boy had consumed, he would have quite the headache. He was also most likely the one who’d covered everyone with blankets before he left. There was a blue one laid across him and Hin-

 

Daichi had to have seen them.

 

 

He should go. Should squirm out and leave before anyone else saw them and teased them about it for the rest of their Hogwarts careers. Hinata would be humiliated, he’d get angry and then there would be a lot of yelling.

 

(He certainly wasn’t thinking of the way the redheaded boy seemed to fit against him like a puzzle piece- a perfect match.)

 

He should go.

 

But he was tired. He could feel a headache coming on. The blanket was warm. Hinata was warm. And the small boy was holding him in a pretty tight grip. It was…nice.

 

(He knew he should be more freaked out by this. He should feel uncomfortable, odd and want to leave.)

 

A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt. The others didn’t look like they would be waking up any time soon.

 

(It should have felt wrong. It shouldn’t have felt so damn perfect.)

 

Besides alcohol could be blamed for a lot of things.

 

(He shouldn’t have felt more comfortable than he ever has.)

 

Hinata was warm.

 

His eyes drifted shut. His arms tightened just a little.

 

(He wanted more of these feelings.)

 

-

 

“Why are you being more of a jerk than normal?” Hinata was angry, furious even. Kageyama noticed this immediately but didn’t do anything to help the smaller boy calm down; he just shrugged and huffed out a breath. He couldn’t deal with this- not right now. The ceiling really was incredibly interesting. He didn’t look at the body in front of him; lithe, agile, the perfect size to wrap his arms around.

 

“Hey I’m talking to you. Look at me damnit!” A hand grabbed his collar and yanked him forward. It caught him by surprise so he couldn’t prevent it and he didn’t move because; well because Hinata was looking at him straight in the eyes. Eyes that blazed with determination and spirit like they usually did but also with anger, confusion, neither too unusual, and hurt. It was that last one that paralysed him causing a sickly twisting in his stomach. The painful feeling didn’t exactly go well with the acidic burn of jealousy that was afflicting him now.

 

“Why did you do that?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A lie.

 

“Liar! What in merlin’s name made you act like that?” He couldn’t answer it would ruin everything. His heart was pounding in his ears and it was all he could do not to flinch back. But he could never back down to Hinata.

 

 

Two pairs of burning eyes. One clear mind. One confused mind. Two hurting hearts. Over four years of rivalry. One string that tied them together. One challenge after the next.

 

‘Tell me why’. Hinata’s eyes screamed. ‘I dare you to tell me why.’

 

He opened his mouth to ask the questions that were burning in his mind, but Kageyama broke first.

 

He moved to close the short distance between them. Desperate to silence the roaring in his chest and ears and to soothe the burning in his stomach. Wanting to reveal the secret despite what it would cost him.

 

He never wanted Hinata to stop looking at him. He never wanted to stop looking at Hinata. The Gryffindor idiot he’d always been aware of who had forced his way into Kageyama’s life with an explosion of noise, colour and vibrancy. It was simple really.

 

Mouths met. Teeth clashed. Eyes widened.

 

For a moment it was nice.

 

Then Hinata nearly bit the other boy’s tongue in shock. One trip to the Hospital Wing later Kageyama had stopped spitting up blood and the two of them were holding hands.

 

**Sixth Year**

He was fine. He could do this. It was nothing to be frightened of. He’s had to face an angry Suga once before and nothing could possibly ever compare to that… right? So his hands had no reason to be trembling so badly. However, the red door in front of him could have been the portal to the underworld given the terror that seeped into his bones. The house that said door was a part of was fairly normal by muggle standards, and he could see one or two crows sitting on the roof as they pecked at something in the gutter.

 

Behind him he could hear the noises of the street; cars, footsteps and voices all mingling into one din of hustle and bustle. Hinata was right beside him rummaging around in his bag for a key, and their trunks stood just behind them with their brooms safely fastened on top. The train ride had been fairly uneventful apart from walking in on Hinata’s former captain uhh…..saying a rather passionate hello to Akaashi at the station. The former Gryffindor had been oblivious to everyone else as he’d swept the newly-graduated Slytherin captain up in a hug. It would have been cute if it had stopped at the hug.

 

Apart from that it had been a little sombre. Nishinoya and Tanaka had been crying and Ennoshita’s eyes had been moist. The older members of Karasuno had now all graduated and this autumn he, Hinata, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi would be seventh years. They had one final summer before that. One last year of Hogwarts before the world of adults sucked them in. It was a sobering thought.

 

Even so, it is one that he’d much rather contemplate than the door in front of him and what lay beyond it. He’d rather have dinner with Tsukishima, Oikawa and Kuroo than knock on that innocent looking door.

 

The cursed thing was mocking him. He just knew it.

 

“Ah-ha!” Hinata’s exclamation of joy caused Kageyama’s heart to plummet. When Hinata had first suggested that he stay for the summer he thought it might actually be fun. Stupid misguided youth of yesterday. This was torture. His boyfriend was evil. The tales that he’d heard about Hinata’s family had all been positive and he’d met Natsu at Hogwarts who was as sweet as her brother was annoying. She’d stared up at him with big wide eyes and he’d felt like a clumsy oaf with a thick tongue. She was in the house already because she had travelled here directly after the school year had ended unlike Kageyama and his bumbling boyfriend who had stayed behind for one last lunch with their upperclassmen in London. Daichi, Suga, Kiyoko and Asahi had joined them and they’d spent a couple of hours catching up. Hinata had babbled to Yachi. Tanaka had yelled. Noya had laughed. Tsukishima had sneered. Yamaguchi had chuckled along with Suga. Asahi had fretted. Ennoshita had sighed. Kinoshita had snorted out his drink. Narita had giggled. Kiyoko had smiled a little as she sipped her drink. Daichi had shaken his head, but, like always, he had still smiled along with everyone else. He had relaxed in the company of his family of misfits.

 

According to Hinata his parents were awesome but a little embarrassing, and it was easy to tell from the way he talked about them that he loved them to bits. They had consistently sent him treats via owl, and Hinata had read Kageyama some of the letters that they had sent to their son. These letters were full of support, encouragement and a desire to learn more about the world that their children were a part of.

 

(What if they didn’t like him?)

 

Hinata’s meeting with his own parents had not gone so smoothly.

 

How was he supposed to interact with-

 

“Hey,” he looked down to see a small bright smile, “they’re going to love you don’t worry.”

 

(How could he know that?)

 

He forced a grin and tried to ignore Hinata’s shudder. He was going to be an elite Quidditch player one day, so he could surely handle meeting his boyfriend’s parents. He steeled himself before realising that Hinata had stepped forward and was in the process of unlocking the door.

 

He looked back and grinned. “I dare you to not be scared.” He turned the lock.

 

The word wait leapt to the tip of his tongue but the door was already pushed open Hinata excitedly bounding inside. Kageyama’s worries started to bundle up again and threatened to overwhelm him with fear, but he shook his head and took a deep breath. The challenge had settled him. He couldn’t let Hinata win that easily.

 

“Mum, dad I’m home! And Kageyama is here too.”

 

So there was no chance of backing out now unless, well, he was very, VERY lucky and a passing dragon decided to take pity on him and burn him to a crisp.

 

“Welcome back Shouyou, I’ve set up a camp bed in your room for Kageyama-kun and we’re going to have dinner at 6. “

 

“Sounds great mom.” Kageyama gulped and forced his body forward through the doorway. He was suddenly faced with Hinata’s eyes but on a different face. Hinata’s mother was a pretty woman and it was clear that he got his looks from her. She smiled, her face bursting with warmth.

 

“Nice to meet you Kageyama-kun, I’ve heard so much about you from Natsu and Shouyou.”

 

That could mean anything. His manners hit him like a bolt of lightning and his bow nearly snapped his spine in two.

 

“The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for inviting me to your home.” His voice came out loud and he was sure that his cheeks were red.

 

(He couldn’t mess this up. He just couldn’t.)

 

A chuckle caused him to look up and her smile was still there shining just as brightly as before.

 

“You’re very welcome. I’d love to hear your side of the story, I’m sure Shouyou has exaggerated some parts.” As Hinata started to loudly protest a flash of orange caught his eyes. Focusing on it he spotted Natsu peering at him from the kitchen door a mini spatula in her hand. She met his gaze and blushed red, ducking her head back round. His lips began to curve up into a smile as the scent of home cooking filled the hallway.

 

Hinata was gesturing wildly. His mother was laughing. Natsu dared another glance at him and flashed him a sweet smile.

 

His worry and tension quickly dissipated.

 

This might not have been so bad after all.

 

**Seventh Year**

Final match.

 

Gryffindor vs Slytherin.

 

50 – 60.

 

Two seekers hovered high above the madness of the quaffle fight.

 

One dressed in green. Sharp blue eyes scanning the pitch with pinpoint accuracy.

 

One clothed in red. Wide brown eyes darting left and right.

 

Their target? A tiny flying ball made of gold.

 

A flash of priceless treasure amongst an aerial battle.

 

The chase? A true test of a fliers skill.

 

Dodge. Sweve. Feint.

 

The prize? A golden cup. Admiration. Adoration. A sense of ultimate victory.

 

“So you’ve got a try-out for the Montrose Magpies in a month?” Kageyama’s eyes didn’t leave the ground as he answered.

 

“You know that’s true I told you myself fool.” He shifted forward just slightly and suppressed the grin when Hinata followed suit. Now they were both kings. Now they were masters of the air.

 

“Nearly seven years and you can still only insult my intelligence?” A bright laugh. “Anyway I got a letter this morning and….”

 

They both stopped and tensed at a flash of yellow, but it was just a Hufflepuff’s scarf.

 

“And I’ve been invited to try for the Falmouth Falcons.” Kageyama almost looked at him but that wasn’t the game they played. Instead he took in the pure joy and pride residing in the other boy’s tone feeling an answering joy in his own chest.

 

“So-” He was cut off.

 

A flash of gold.

 

They dove towards the ground.

 

Air screamed past his head, the other players swerving to get out the way and the crowd was instantly focused on the two seekers. Here was where the match would be decided.

 

 

The ground came closer and closer. He could see the blades of grass, but the snitch was hovering right there and as a seeker he would still continue even if the result would include him crashing into the ground. A red arm shot out and he just had time to curse before the snitch darted off to the left.

 

They both heaved their brooms up out of the dive and continued the chase, their brooms barely a metre off the ground.

 

It swerved, circled back and zig-zagged above the ground. But this was what they had been trained for.

 

Hinata attempted to spin over him but he leaned forward and flew slightly to the right.

 

His heart was pumping and a wicked grin erupted onto on his face. A flash of red on his left only caused it to widen and they both flew straight up to follow their prey.

 

Parallel they flew high into the sky. They twisted around one another; hearts bounding and grins wide.

 

The snitch was finally in reach and he stretched out a hand.

 

However, he was a fraction of a second too slow, and he recognized that when he saw the red gloved fist cross his eyes.

 

The shout of victory was heard. Gryffindor rejoiced and Slytherin lamented.

 

The cup had been won.

 

It was over.

 

He had lost.

 

So why was he smiling.

 

(Because there would be more battles like this. Because they would both make it onto the professional teams and meet again in the battlefield of the sky.)

 

“Hey Tobio,” Hinata snapped his gaze to his boyfriends face, “I bet you can’t do this for another ten years.”

 

Kageyama snorted and leaned forward, meeting the fiery determination of the boy in front of him with his own cool will of steel.

 

“Bring it on Shouyou, bring it on.” He reached to pull Hinata’s head up and slanted his mouth across open lips. The now familiar sparks flew and he curled his fingers into orange hair. Luckily, the incident that occurred during their first kiss had not repeated itself, and they were able to easily kiss without any sudden or accidental injuries, the sparks leaping from one to the other perfectly safe.

 

Ten? He was aiming for much longer than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 is up! Big thank you to my amazing beta reader Sophie (endlesslygay on tumblr) who has been a huge help in getting this fit to be posted. This was requested by Ko_Sensei and hopefully you like it. Also the reason some of these moments may seem unfinished or require more details is that I felt they were too big to be included as full pieces so I only gave a snapshot. 
> 
> Also I want to say a big thank you to you guys reading this. I have the best readers ever, you're all so nice and you are the reason I feel motivated to keep writing. I've spoken to a few of you on tumblr and it's really fun. So thank you for supporting me and this series.
> 
> I will be opening requests when I post the drabble: Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request) when this is up I will be accepting them again.
> 
> Here is the direct link to [my tumblr](http://what-fire-is-in-mine-ears.tumblr.com/) in case anyone was struggling to find me.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Bokuaka - Jealous!Akaashi for 10kkun  
> Future drabbles: Bokuaka - Training for Sumi, Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz, Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	16. Bokuaka - Jealousy

Akaashi liked to believe that he was a fairly clear-minded person; that he knew himself fairly well. He knew what he liked, what he disliked, what he could tolerate and what could push him to the breaking point; it was a talent of his that was rather useful. Extreme emotions unnerved him; they clouded the head and led to rash and sometimes even dangerous decisions that usually resulted in severe consequences. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t experience them himself or that he didn’t let them show, he just didn’t happen to experience them very often. Of course, there were some small occasions during which he felt such emotions come over him: after executing a perfect shot, after mastering a tricky shot, while getting angry on behalf of a friend. It was during these moments that he would let himself sink into said stormy sea of passionate emotions, but, in general, he was successfully able to maintain his reputation for being a very reserved and indifferent individual.

 

So, with all of this in mind, the fiery emotions that suddenly blossomed within him after he saw Kuroo and Bokuto messing about as they often did were rather surprising to the boy.

 

The fifth year had successfully found a quiet compartment; he had arrived early to escape the rush, but it hadn’t been long before his fellow students had discovered him. He’d known Bokuto since third year and, well, just about everyone in the wizarding world had heard of Kuroo’s family, although Akaashi hadn’t ever specifically interacted with the boy until his second year. Ever since meeting the two rambunctious boys his plot for a peaceful and quiet life at Hogwarts had gone up in smoke. Luckily for him, over the years he had managed to build up a significant amount of tolerance for the two of them and their antics, so when the door slammed open and a familiar head of hair peeked through he was able to calmly close his book and look up at the new presence in the room; successfully hiding his slight irritation.

 

“Oh! There you are Akaashi. Hey Kuroo he’s in here!” Bokuto yelled and then proceeded to practically hop into the space in front of the other boy. He was brimming with energy; his ever-present grin appearing right on cue. Akaashi’s captain followed at a much more sedated pace and nodded to Akaashi with a lazy smirk, stopping beside his friend.

 

“Hello Bokuto-san, Kuroo-san.”

 

“Aw man, I keep telling you, you don’t have to be so formal around us. We’re all friends right?” True but…

 

“It wouldn’t be proper Bokuto-san.” The sixth year pouted at this causing Kuroo to snigger and fold his arms across his chest.

 

“C’mon, stop annoying my chaser would you. I thought you wanted to tell him that story about the white creepy looking thing that got stuck in your garden?” Bokuto perked up a bit and beamed.

 

“Oh you mean the Mooncalf! Poor thing must have been stuck there for hours.” With his usual happy mood in place Bokuto launched into a story of danger, magic and heroism that was either completely false or at least heavily exaggerated given the way that Kuroo was shaking his head with every word Bokuto spoke. The story may have been embellished quite a bit, but Akaashi was still able to infer a couple of things from it.

 

One; Kuroo had apparently spent nearly the entire summer with Bokuto and his family

 

Two; it had done him a great deal of good

 

Three; Akaashi didn’t like it one bit.

 

The first two were obvious; Bokuto spoke of ‘Kuroo’s room’ and, well, Kuroo’s skin had a healthy glow to it that was most likely from spending lots of time out in the sun. It matched the happy gleam in the tall boy’s eyes and the healthy glow that radiated from his person. Akaashi’s father had heard rumours of an argument occurring within the Kuroo family, but few purebloods actually knew exactly what had happened. However, whatever it might have been about, the fight must have been serious seeing as Kuroo had been forced to spend his holiday with Bokuto in another area of the country instead of spending it at home.

 

The third was a complete shock.

 

It took all his self-control not to let it show. To not let the burning in his stomach spread to his face or tongue. The burning was sharp and pointed. It jabbed into his gut every time he took a breath. Every time Kuroo smiled or let some of the fondness and gratitude he obviously felt show, the burning that afflicted Akaashi worsened. Every beam Bokuto gave Kuroo and every hand that Bokuto let rest on his shoulder or arm made Akaashi’s skin prickle in displeasure.

 

These feelings were utterly absurd and he knew it yet, still, they would not dissipate. The whole school was aware of the odd friendship the two sixth year boys shared. The teachers groaned about it. Some of the more conservative house members resented it. Most of the students found the pair fascinating. At times it seemed like the two were conjoined at the hip, and at others there would be pranks and schemes against one another; eventually leading to shouting, pouting and a couple of weeks’ worth of detention from the nearest irate professor. They were friends. Good ones. It was perfectly natural for them to seek shelter with the other in times of hardship.

 

Yet there were rumours as there always were. Rumours of their relationship being more than just simply the platonic bond of close friends. Whispers of their friendship being a front for a much, _much_ deeper bond. Eyes that would catch glimpses of an unusual amount of touching occurring between the two of them hinting at a closeness that went much further than just friends.

 

The two were never more relaxed than when they were with each other. Kuroo especially seemed to drop several of his walls whenever the Gryffindor came charging down a hallway with his arms waving in the air.

 

“I still think the best one was when your dad attempted to get that Augrey out of the chimney.” Kuroo interrupted the outlandish story, but Akaashi was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to really notice.

 

(These thoughts were stupid; the whole school knew that Kuroo had feelings for Sawamura. There had been several bets about the two going on for years now.)

 

“Oh yeah, she really hated him didn’t she?”

 

(There was no way that Kuroo could have feelings for Bokuto.)

 

“You could tell it was a girl?”

 

(But that didn’t mean the reverse was false as well.)

 

“Couldn’t you?”

 

(What if Bokuto had feelings for Kuroo?)

 

“Not all of us are blessed with such in depth animal knowledge because our brains don’t function on an animal level.”

 

(But, more importantly; _why did Akaashi even care?_ )

 

“Yes, you’re right. I am totally jealous of all the crap that gets on your clothes from all the creature handling you do. Curse my fresh-smelling robes.” Akaashi turned his attention back to the two other boys just in time to see Kuroo elbow Bokuto in the gut. They were both smiling, both at ease, they looked like they fit.

 

And, for some reason, Akaashi _hated_ it and he didn’t know why. He didn’t know why he would possibly resent the idea of Kuroo spending the summer with Bokuto. He didn’t know why- ugh, that was far enough. He could think about this later because, at the moment, he had to retain his appearance of normalcy to the others so that no one would get suspicious or ask him any questions abut the thoughts currently overwhelming his mind. He knew his captain, and, well, if Kuroo thought something was wrong with one of his team members then he wouldn’t stop until he found answers to the questions that he had asked. It was an admirable trait, but Akaashi couldn’t even find it within himself to appreciate it at the moment.

 

He would deal with this unwanted development later.

 

“Sounds like you two had a good summer then.” He finally responded, locking gazes with Kuroo, desperately trying to hide the negative ball of emotions swirling inside of him and hoping that the slight venom in his tone was not noticeable to the others.

 

“We sure did. Brush-head and I had a great time. Anyway the thing with my dad was there was this Augrey in our chimney.”

 

“I’d gathered that already Bokuto-san.” This earned the grey-haired boy a roll of the eyes, but he wasn’t to be put off and he still proceeded to launch into a vivid description of his father’s trouble. His hands were gesturing animatedly; energy and magic crackling around him. His eyes were focused solely on Akaashi, the younger boy who was only listening with one ear. A smile was reluctantly but definitively appearing on Akaashi’s face as he imagined what a sight the poor wizard dangling from the ceiling would have been.

 

Bokuto, he’d discovered, had an uncanny ability to make him smile more than anyone else he knew. It made absolutely no sense. Based on, well, everything he shouldn’t like Bokuto; he shouldn’t even consider him as a friend. The older teen was loud, disorganized, foolish, irrational and possessed a stubborn streak large enough to be that of an entire Quidditch team. The two boys shouldn’t click; they shouldn’t even get along. Akaashi should want to be as far away as possible from this storm of a boy in front of him.

 

Yet, he didn’t. He wanted to stay near Bokuto; wanted to hear the other teen’s obnoxious voice yell ‘good morning’ to him down the crowded corridor every day. He even wanted to hear Bokuto’s lengthy, confusing exultations on dragons, owls, unicorns and, all the other creatures that had happened to catch the animal-loving boy’s attention that week.

 

Something about Bokuto just drew Akaashi in; ensnaring him in a net of friendly words, honest greetings, helpful advice and constant attention from which escape was impossible. When he spoke to Bokuto he didn’t feel as if he were being dismissed as boring, a know-it-all, untrustworthy or suspicious. Bokuto didn’t seem to care about the wall of silence that surrounded Akaashi or the blank faces that discouraged most people from interacting with him. He patted the younger boy on the back; he didn’t hesitate to grab Akaashi’s hand and drag him off; uncertainties about including the younger boy in his mischief seemingly non-existent. Bokuto trusted Akaashi, and just knowing that sent warmth traveling up Akaashi’s spine.

 

He was Akaashi’s friend. An idea that was still fairly novel for the Slytherin.

 

That friendship was warmth. It was colour. It was excitement.

 

(It was not enough.)

 

Akaashi’s smile faded as he heard Kuroo laugh at Bokuto’s impression, and he even went so far as to grimace when Bokuto then proceeded to grab Kuroo’s arm to keep the captain from losing his balance. The acidic burn that had previously plagued him returned and he was forced to look away so that his eyes wouldn’t remain stuck on that contact point of the hand grabbing the arm. The door creaked open and, grateful for the intrusion, he looked up to see Sawamura enter the carriage.

 

Said prefect was another person that Akaashi enjoyed spending time with, and the younger boy held a great amount of respect for the Hufflepuff. The time that the then-fourth year had rescued him- a mere third year- from the resentful fifth years bullying him was forever ingrained in his mind. Sawamura had appeared in a cloud of stern words, barely suppressed rage and hints of danger pulsing from him. Akaashi opened his mouth to greet his upperclassman, but not a sound left his lips for he had noticed a never seen before look clouding the other boy’s eyes. It was a _stricken_ look embodied by a mess of strong emotions; each one fighting to become the most dominant. Confusion. Regret. Shock. Pain. Akaashi recognized in the other boy a touch of the acidic flames that the younger boy himself had been feeling only seconds before.

 

“Sawamura-san.” Brown eyes turned to look at him, but Akaashi could tell that the prefect didn’t see him, for the older boy was far too caught up in his own internal turmoil.

 

The conversation that followed this surprising turn of events was rather strained. It began and ended with Sawamura passing through the doors of the carriage, although, the sixth year’s exit was much more tense and unhappy as Sawamura fled from the carriage with Kuroo calling after him. Akaashi made a note to speak to the Hufflepuff later on. He was clearly not fine, and hopefully by the time this confrontation came to pass Akaashi’s own mind would be a bit more settled so that he could be more effective when dealing with his upperclassman.

 

When Kuroo had called after Sawamura, desperation and raw pain plastered across his face, Bokuto had stepped forward and placed his hand on his fellow sixth year’s shoulder.

 

“Dude it’ll be fine. He’s probably just really stressed over prefect stuff. Did you see some of the first years we passed he’s got to have his hands full.” His voice was reassuring and soft, and compassion rolled off him in waves as he tried to comfort his friend. “Now I’m going to tell Akaashi about the incident with you and our family Runespoor.” He turned to grin at Akaashi. “A Runespoor is a three-headed snake native to Africa, its eggs are used in potions and ours is over 6 foot long. Should have seen his face when it slithered up to him.”

 

Those words only helped to stoke the unpleasant fire burning in his chest. But enough of this. He had more important things to focus on rather than this unwanted development.

 

He’d sort this mess out later. When he was alone.

 

**Two Weeks Later**

So after many long attempts to figure out what was wrong Akaashi hadn’t been very successful to say the least. Of course, that was most probably because the source of these unpredictable emotions that burned within him was still present- _very_ present.

 

Bokuto and Kuroo were now officially inseparable. Sure, people had always joked about them being conjoined at the hip, but it looked like much less of a joke now for it was becoming very uncommon to even see one without the other. At meals. Between classes. During free time. In the library. On the training grounds. Several of Akaashi’s training sessions with Bokuto had been cancelled because Kuroo had needed help with something.

 

Bokuto was hovering around Kuroo, although it wasn’t too difficult to see why.

 

Akaashi’s captain looked ill. His healthy appearance from the train ride had slowly deteriorated, and he was constantly looking absolutely miserable. The cause of that misery was quite obvious to anyone who knew the teen; Sawamura’s sudden avoidance of Kuroo was destroying the Slytherin inside and out. Akaashi had stayed silent and watched as, over the days, the Hufflepuff prefect had evaded any chance of contact with Kuroo. Sawamura took the long routes to class, he didn’t confront Kuroo over the things that used to send him into a rage, he wouldn’t even look at the other boy if he could help it.

 

And, as a result, Kuroo was absolutely devastated. If one knows exactly what to look for the signs of heartbreak can be quite easy to spot, and Akaashi was always rather exceptional at observing people. Others that surrounded the dejected teen just assumed that he was a bit sad, but Akaashi could see that Kuroo’s pain went much deeper than just that.

 

Part of Akaashi felt truly sorry for Kuroo, Sawamura hadn’t given a hint as to why he was shunning the other boy, but a large part of the fifth year felt immeasurable anger towards his fellow Slytherin. This anger flared throughout his body whenever Bokuto came to the sixth year’s side in order to cheer him up, distract him and help him through the storm.

 

Like now.

 

It was breakfast and Bokuto was at the Slytherin table pressing Kuroo’s face into his cereal bowl and telling him to eat. Oikawa was sitting across from the duo with his best friend from Ravenclaw at his side, and he was looking like he was tempted to do the same thing. Kuroo sat up with a gasp and immediately retaliated with a jug of milk emptied over Bokuto’s hair. The squawks and furious yells that followed caused an explosion of laughter at the Slytherintable, but Akaashi felt strangely cold.  Underneath the fake anger and pride that Bokuto exuded Akaashi could see fondness and relief, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like the ease and casual nature of the touches that the two constantly shared.

 

(Because he wan-)

 

“Akaashi-kun?” Jolted out of his thoughts he spun around to see Sawamura standing behind him. “Are you going in for breakfast?” He nodded distractedly while his eyes scanned the prefect up and down.

 

He wasn’t as adapt at reading Sawamura as he was his own captain, but the Hufflepuff didn’t look so great either. He was standing straight, robes tidy and clean, but there was a tiredness about him that clung to his frame. There was a significant lack of the vitality that usually surrounded the boy and his skin seemed to be a shade paler than usual.

 

He didn’t look like his avoidance of Kuroo was doing him any good at all.

 

So why do it?

 

“Yes, I was just about to go in.” Of course, that was before Akaashi had seen the previous scene unfold; one that had become rather common lately and, for some reason, caused him more turmoil than he would like to admit.

 

“Ah ok, I think I see Suga over there if you’d just excuse me….” The last word trailed off and Akaashi could tell the exact moment that Sawamura caught sight of the two boys currently attempting to cover each other in various breakfast foods. He could tell because Sawamura’s skin lost what little colour it had, his posture tensed even more as if he was trying to brace himself for a blow and his eyes grew stony. Akaashi looked as subtly as he could from Kuroo to Sawamura and felt the stirrings of a realisation in his head.

 

Could it be?

 

“Actually I think Asahi wanted to ask me something about practice. I’ll see you later Akaashi-kun.” Without waiting for a reply, highly unusual for the normally polite prefect, Sawamura started to walk back down towards the stairway.

 

Was it possible that Kuroo’s feelings were not quite as unrequited as he, and everyone else, believed?

 

Then why the avoidance? Why-

 

“Akaashi you going to sit down?” The boisterous yell carried over the pleasant hum of breakfast talk, but Akaashi pretended not to hear. He’d promised himself not to do anything that might jeopardize his friendship with either one of them, and in his current mood there was an alarmingly large chance that he might break that. The anxious grudge he bore towards Kuroo, one that frankly made no sense at all, refused to release him from its clutches. Even so, he adamantly refused to let it ruin one of the few friendships that he had been able to form.

 

He decided to head to the library for some morning reading before the Ravenclaws invaded. With each step further away from the two boys the grudge shrunk until it was successfully hidden in Akaashi’s heart; a ticking time bomb ready to explode at the next chance it got.

 

He, however, didn’t notice the pained, _longing_ look shot at his own back as he walked away.

 

**Three Weeks Later**

The castle was buzzing with the news. It had passed from mouth to ear like Fiendfyre and was just as unstoppable. Every being in Hogwarts seemed to be gathered for breakfast just to see if it was true.

 

Akaashi was among them, but he walked at a slow and calm pace, especially when compared to some of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs who were sprinting down the halls. The Gryffindor keeper, a boy with hair that could rival even Bokuto’s, was yelling frantically at Suga and dragging the sixth year down the hallway as he followed the rest of the students racing towards the great hall.

 

If they were all reacting in such an intense way, then there might actually be a good chance of said rumour being true.

 

It was the hottest gossip of the year so far:

 

Tetsurou Kuroo and Daichi Sawamura were together.

 

It sounded impossible. Sawamura was meant to be oblivious. It was supposed to be Kuroo’s one-sided crush.

 

It was also supposed to be a complete secret so, naturally, the entire school knew about it.

 

He found himself in the same position as he was weeks ago: standing by the door and peering in. The room was unusually hushed for dinner as everyone tried and failed at suppressing their stares directed at the two students sitting at the centre of the Hufflepuff table. One half of the duo was blushing red from all of the inquisitive looks. Hell, one third year was unabashedly gaping right at them. The other half was radiating happiness, it was an unusual look on the Slytherin captain, but, frankly, both boys looked much happier than either of them had all term.

 

It was the hands that caught Akaashi’s attention.

 

Kuroo’s hand rested on top of Sawamura’s, his fingers intertwined with those of the Hufflepuff.

 

It was a clear symbol for the world, or, at least, their school population, to see.

 

Akaashi was pretty sure he heard someone cheer, but Sawamura’s lightning quick turn and glare had said student shutting up instantly. Although, even the threat of Sawamura’s legendary anger couldn’t quell the jingling of coins as bets were won and money was exchanged. The poor prefect looked so obviously uncomfortable. Akaashi caught the squeeze that Kuroo gave his newly established partner and the shared look of affection that passed between the two. Sawamura’s face reddened further but he was smiling, if only a little.

 

“Kinda makes you want to throw up a bit doesn’t it.” Akaashi recognised the familiar voice instantly.

 

“Good morning Bokuto-san,” He threw a glance at his doorway companion. Bokuto wasn’t usually one to stay outside. “I thought you would be happy about this new development.”

 

Dangerous. He was striding into dangerous territory. Five weeks and he still couldn’t figure it out. The answer was getting clearer each day though. Luckily, full avoidance hadn’t been necessary, but his interactions with Bokuto had been reduced considerably since term began. It was good in that it kept the beast inside quiet, but it was bad in that…

 

He missed Bokuto.

 

His term had been dull, predictable and grey; the lack of noise had become more of a curse than a blessing.

 

“Oh don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled for him, for them both really, but,” he gestured at the two of them, and Akaashi steeled himself for what the next words might be. Whether they might confirm what he had feared for over a month. “you gotta admit that it’s a little nauseating right? That look on his face? I mean c’mon man at least try not to show how head over heels you were.”

 

The beast went back to sleep.

 

“I believe that Kuroo-san has earned a moment or two to look like that. Knowing him he’ll be back to normal soon.” Bokuto let out a chuckle, warm and soft; it curled around Akaashi’s heart.

 

“Yeah, I guess I can give him a day off from my awesomeness for a day.”

 

“I’m sure he and Sawamura-san will appreciate you not attempting to force feed him pancakes Bokuto-san.” His voice is dry and only slightly amused.

 

“Hey, I only did that because the dud wasn’t eating. How could I savour winning against him if he’s not in the best shape?”

 

“I believe _we_ won the match yesterday Bokuto-san.” It had been a good match, and the celebration afterwards had been fun, even for him. Kageyama had dragged him to the side in order to ask about a dodging technique he had used, and the two of them had spent most of the party quietly discussing the possibility of Akaashi teaching him how to do it. It was a move that Bokuto had taught him.

 

“I meant savour it when my team wins of course! Next time it’ll be our victory.” Bokuto grinned at Akaashi, his normal happy go-lucky grin that was tempered with determination and the desire for victory. These two feelings were ones that every Quidditch player shared. They were the two feelings that tinged Akaashi’s response.

 

“We shall see Bokuto-san. My team and I have our eyes set on the cup.”

 

“Of course you do, ambition is a big thing in your house right?”

 

“It’s one of the qualities we’re known for true. My captain certainly seems to have plenty.”

 

“Argh! That always makes me mad y’know?” Surprised at the discontentment in the tone Akaashi turned fully to meet his companion’s gaze.

 

“What does Bokuto-san?” Bokuto shrugged and pointed at Kuroo.

 

“That you’re in his team and not mine.” It was said plainly as if he was commenting on the weather; like it was just another fact of life. Hogwarts was a castle, Professor Takeda liked to share meals with flying coach Ukai, and Bokuto wanted Akaashi to be on his team.

 

“E-Excuse me.” He managed to blurt out; mind still reeling from the new information. His brain’s functioning skills weren’t helped by the fireworks show currently going off in his chest. Too many emotions flitted through his head at once, and he floundered under the input.

 

The only thing he was sure of was that it wasn’t bad.

 

“Yeah, I’ve wanted you in my team ever since third year when I caught you practicing after dark.” Red threatened to bloom on Akaashi’s cheeks, but he forced it down and focused all of his attention on Bokuto. The guy standing in front of him who still looked infuriatingly unruffled. “You looked so determined to get the manoeuvre right, I could see the way you were gripping your broom, but you still had a smile on your face. It was obvious how much you loved flying. Made me want to grab my broom from my bed and join you in the air. But I guess I got to do that anyway with our little training deal huh?”

 

“I guess so.”

 

“Man, I’ve really missed them lately. I’ve been so busy with Kuroo and well…” He made a vague semi-wave to encompass the past weeks of drama and tension between the new couple. All Akaashi could focus on was the word ‘missed’ as if Bokuto really had felt disappointment about the loss of their time together practicing on the pitch.

 

“But I’m really jealous of him because of that. Bastard gets to have one of the best chasers ever on his team-” He trailed off into a string of grumbles about lucky cat guys or something, but Akaashi wasn’t paying attention because he was stuck on another word.

 

 

Feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages.

 

Perceived advantages such as closeness with a certain person, spending an entire summer of laughter, fun and support with them, able to make them laugh and  have them worry about you, casually touch them with no worry for what others may think, and be around them more than you are.

 

Why did he feel resentful towards Kuroo?

 

(Because he wanted it for himself.)

 

Because he was jealous.

 

Why was he jealous?

 

“Akaashi? You okay?” He blinked once and was met with an extremely concerned face of Bokuto looking down, just a little, at him. Honest eyes that belonged to a person who had somehow managed to squeeze his way into Akaashi’s life so fully that his absence was something to be hated.

 

How had he not noticed? How had he not noticed _Bokuto_ becoming this important to him?

 

“I-” The answer halted on his tongue for a moment.

 

He was jealous because he wanted those things with Bokuto.

 

Not just friends.

 

He wanted more.

 

“I think I’ll be fine Bokuto-san.” A genuine smile appeared on his face.

 

He had pinpointed the source of the beast that lay within.

 

He knew the reasons for the feelings that had perplexed him all term.

 

Now he just had to figure out what to do about it.

 

“Though I do believe Hinata-kun is about to eat your breakfast.”

 

“What!!! Hinata that’s my food!”

 

It should have been impossible.

 

It wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the delay both my beta reader and I have been busy but unfortunately this is going to become more common because of real life things. Oh, please check out the work at the end of this piece by Lilaevolet who has written another Hogwarts AU inspired by this one. Other than that please enjoy this Bokuaka drabble requested by 10kkun.
> 
> Requests are closed.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Bokuaka - Training for Jamsamsu  
> Future drabbles: Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz, Gen - intimidating Hinata for undertheweepingheaven (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	17. Bokuaka - Training

The dew on the grass was flung in several directions as the two flyers dismounted from their brooms. It was a cold March morning and the early chill had yet to give way to the sun’s warmth. Though the two students either didn’t feel it or let the cold bother them, too focused on the task at hand. The fourth year Slytherin felt his frustration grow a little more, another unsuccessful attempt, and he wondered if he’d be able to master the move in time for the next game. His partner on the other hand was still wearing that signature grin of his, and didn’t seem the least bit upset about the lack of progress. His hair was even more messy than usual and Akaashi was sure he could see several twigs stuck in it.

 

“Wooo! Not bad Akaashi you’ve just about got it.” It seemed Bokuto was neither a morning nor an afternoon person, he was an all-day person. It still grated on his nerves a little whenever he exited his common room at a ridiculous hour; tired, always looking at least a little rumpled, and saw the Gryffindor excitedly waving at him down the hall looking no worse for wear and still brimming with energy.

 

“I don’t believe I’ve made much improvement from my very first attempt Bokuto-san.” There was a hint of his frustration in his voice. Frustration at himself for not improving. Frustration at the move for being so difficult. Frustration at Bokuto for not explaining how to do it more clearly.

 

He knew the last one was unfair. The other boy was out here in the cold early hours of the day in order to help him improve his skills, largely out of the goodness of his own heart. Yes they still had the deal in place; that Akaashi would tutor him in certain subjects for three hours of training a week, but this was about the sixth hour this week. Bokuto sometimes acted like these sessions were more of a favour for himself rather than Akaashi. As if he didn’t have more important things to be doing than helping an underclassman from another house get better at Quidditch.

 

So he was aware that the irritation he felt aimed at Bokuto was most likely misplaced anger at his own inability to learn the move. But the beaming smile, the aura of total contentment and the pure joy radiating off him weren’t helping to raise his mood.

 

“That’s because you can’t see yourself doing it like I can. You’re much sharper in the turns than before and you’re really whooshing round and…” Akaashi can only stare as his ‘teacher’ goes off on another string of words and sounds incomprehensible to him. At times it felt like the two of them were speaking different languages, this time for instance. He took in the waving arms, bright eyes and nonsense words and could feel his patience start to wither.

 

“Bokuto-san.” He snapped. “I don’t understand what you mean.” Bokuto stopped and for a moment Akaashi had thought he’d crossed a line; or maybe pushed him over into dejected mode. But the smile returned as bright as ever.

 

“Oh sorry about that. I usually talk like that when I’m training with Inouka and Hinata. Let me think for a minute.” Akaashi nodded and started to flex his fingers. They’d been out here an hour already and his hands had been wrapped around his broom for most of it. The sun’s rays were finally beginning to warm the air, though his breath was still coming out in foggy puffs. Today he had a test in Ancient Runes and it wasn’t helping his mind-set. It was one of the most difficult subjects at Hogwarts and he hoped to get some more revision done before the class. He had plans to meet up with Ennoshita, another fourth year in Ravenclaw, and compare notes after breakfast. Then he’d agreed to help Kageyama with his Charms essay. Tsukishima had declared his teammate hopeless and stormed off yesterday so Akaashi had stepped in to aid Kageyama while his anger cooled.

 

“Ah-ha! Ok I’ve got it now. Get on your broom.” The words cut into Akaashi’s thoughts and startled he obeyed, swinging one leg over his broom and preparing to push off the ground. A hand grabbed the handle and prevented him from taking off.

 

“Wait! Just stay like that for a moment.” Completely at a loss Akaashi remained still as Bokuto let go of the wood and shifted behind him.

 

A chest pressed against his back. A pair of legs fit snugly behind his. A pair of strong arms encircled his waist. A yelp made it halfway up his throat before:

 

“Push off now!” Confused he responded to the command, and it was a command; that was a captain speaking into his ear. The stability of the ground vanished as he kicked off into the air; desperately trying to figure out what had happened and why he had Bokuto sitting on the back of his broom with him, pressed up close against him and whooping with joy.

 

It was too much, too intimate. Akaashi wasn’t one for touching like this and against his will he could feel his cheeks start to redden. Bokuto shifted forward even closer. He wanted to tell him to stop, tell him to let go and get off his broom because this made him feel…uncomfortable was the only word he could think off to describe it.

 

 

-

 

Bokuto knew that he was crossing over Akaashi’s well-built boundaries. He knew that he was playing a dangerous game. He knew that he was risking one of the most important relationships he had for a couple of moments. But he had very poor impulse control and it really might help Akaashi.

 

He moved his mouth closer to the other boy’s ear and felt the tension pouring off him; his back was stiff, his shoulder’s straight and even his hair seemed to stand up in the wind. He only had a couple of moments before Akaashi told him to get off, probably in that really scary cold tone of his that caused even Kuroo to shiver.

 

“Hey Akaashi,” a further tensing and he tried not to let himself get distracted by the reddening of the ears in front of him “do the move again and I’ll show you how OK?” He made it a question, unwilling to carry on if it really upset his friend. Akaashi wasn’t a big fan of people touching him; even during celebrations he always stood a little bit away from everyone else staying silent unless someone actively engaged in conversation with him.

 

So he was surprised when after a couple of minutes hovering in the air Akaashi nodded and started to speed up for the move. It was a quick series of swerves and dodges he’d learnt to perform in his third year. Kuroo had bet him an entire trunk full of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans that he couldn’t master it in a week. He’d agreed and done it, only for the jerk to give him a trunk full of the flavours which Bokuto hated. Stupid brush-head, why he graced the other with his friendship he had no idea.

 

They were picking up speed now and Bokuto pushed every other thought out of his head. It was him on his broom about to perform the manoeuvre and he let his body go through the familiar motions. Leaning a little more forward to go faster, shifting his legs just slightly in order to stabilise himself and taking one last breath before the world would spin round.

 

A small part of his mind registered Akaashi responding, he’d realised what the little changes meant and was trying to copy them as best he could. With Bokuto pressed up against him he could shift his body to fit, follow the changes, engrave them in his mind. The communication block was gone.

 

There was no need for words. This was just copy and learn, follow and remember; Bokuto could correct any mistakes in the other as they went.

 

As they started the first dive Bokuto could tell that this time it was going to work. Akaashi was in the perfect position and even though this was going to be fairly slow with two people on a broom as long as Akaashi could remember the small important changes and positions he should be able to do it again at a faster speed.

 

They were off.

 

Bokuto didn’t try to stop the beaming grin frim appearing on his face. He loved flying, loved everything about it. Even if he couldn’t play Quidditch he would still fly. At home he would fly with some of his families birds high up over the fields and rivers of their land. It was absolute freedom; no complications, just you on your broom in the air and sometimes a hell of a lot of speed.

 

 

Swerve left.

 

Tuck in the elbow just a bit.

 

Swerve right.

 

Lean into the turn,

 

 

Try to get as flat on your broom as possible.

 

 

Hold on.

 

Swerve right.

 

Banish every thought of falling or colliding with other flyers. Trust yourself and your training. Fly like you know you can.

 

Try not to let the guilt spoil the ride.

 

That last one was for Bokuto alone. As much as he loved the feeling of flying, as much as he enjoyed flying with Akaashi and helping him learn, he knew part of the joy was a result of his own selfish feelings. When else was he going to get a chance to be this close to the person he liked?

 

Ugh, he felt like this was something Kuroo would do. He could see the guy in his head with his stupid hair smiling and giving him a thumbs up seal of approval. It didn’t help that he knew full well that Akaashi didn’t like this sort of thing. That he trusted Bokuto not to try anything. That he just accepted it after the initial shock.

 

But it was so hard not to just enjoy the feeling of having Akaashi in his arms; so what if they were on a broom it still counted. It felt _right._ They fit. He liked Akaashi; liked the way he was always so clam and rational, liked the way he could never quite hide his true feelings behind that blank mask of his, liked the way it would sometimes slip and there would be an expression of pure emotion present for a second. Bokuto stored all those seconds in his memory, re-visiting them again and again looking for further clues about the boy.

 

The fact that Akaashi was adorable was just a plus.

 

He had it so bad.

 

And no clue what to do about it.

 

He’d imagined confessing hundreds of times, each more ridiculous and extravagant than the last, and each time it ended with Akaashi’s unimpressed face and a ‘please stop joking around Bokuto-san, you have a History of Magic essay to write.’ Even the one where he rode into the hall on a Thestral and announced his feelings!

 

Sometimes it was even worse than that. Sometimes in his mind Akaashi would be angry, upset and wouldn’t want anything to do with Bokuto. The idea of his Hogwarts life without Akaashi was not one that he wanted to think about. Sure he had other friends but Akaashi was different, special.

 

Someone who didn’t deserve to be taken advantage of like this.

 

The move ended. They’d done it perfectly.

 

-

 

Akaashi gently landed and felt his passenger leap off his broom. Earlier irritation gone he allowed his mouth to curve into a small smile. He- They’d done it right. He knew he still had to attempt it alone and at a faster speed but he had a good memory; all the tiny shifts and adjustments necessary to complete the move were in his head. The wall had grumbled and he could move forward.

 

A whoop sounded from behind him and he turned to see Bokuto jumping up and down, arms in the air.

 

“I told you that you could do it! Man, that was awesome! You got those turns perfectly. That was so cool Akaashi!”

 

“I don’t think I did it perfectly, you had to adjust my arms a little bit, and so far I’ve only done it once; at a slow speed with another person on my broom.”

 

“Yeah but you’re smiling because you know how to do it now! And once you know how to do it there’s no stopping you.” Taken aback by the sheer confidence and belief in Bokuto’s voice he averted his eyes to his broom. Not many people, in fact it was only one other, spoke to him the way that Bokuto did. His chest swelled with the knowledge that Bokuto thought he could master it. Just as it had during their very first training session when the truly brilliant player had thrown himself into their sessions. He hadn’t treated it like a joke or an annoyance, like it a chore to do in return for academic help.

 

No, he’d turned up on the pitch in the middle of a rainstorm beaming and dressed in full gear. Then he’d spent two hours helping Akaashi with important things about taking off and control which had been invaluable. It was safe to say that if it Bokuto hadn’t helped as much as he did Akaashi would not be on the Slytherin Quidditch team, at least not as a fourth year. Akaashi had thought the deal between them was going to be loud, awkward and unpleasant; they were in the two houses most antagonistic to one another. Yet only one of those had proven true.

 

“….and then you spun like that and then you went straight up like….”

 

Instead it had been a foundation stone of one of the best relationships he’d ever had with someone outside his family.

 

Koutarou Bokuto was his friend.

 

Such a simple word, friend, and Bokuto offered his friendship like it was simple. No hidden strings or agreements. Just two friends. Opposites in nearly everything but their love of Quidditch, but it worked. They worked. They fit.

 

“I’m not kidding y’know?” He looked up to see Bokuto smiling at him. “You really are amazing Akaashi!”

 

The red colour blooming on his cheeks must only be from the adrenaline right? His chest did not feel warm after such an honest simple compliment. He did not feel ridiculously proud for completing it once.

 

The sincerity and pride in Bokuto’s eyes made him feel embarrassed. He knew compared to some of the other players that he wasn’t spectacular. He would only ever be good, never amazing, but just then that seemed like enough.

 

He opened his mouth to say…what? You are amazing as well? I wish I could fly like you do? Thank you? Thank you for teaching me how to do this? Thank you for not pushing me too far, just enough to widen my boundaries? Thank you for always believing in me? Thank you for failing enough subjects to require a tutor? Thank you for always giving me your undivided attention in these sessions? Thank you for being my friend?

 

Whatever he might have said was lost as a third voice intruded on their little meeting.

 

“Whoa! That was so cool!”

 

Both flyers turned to see an unmistakable ball of sunshine running towards them arms whirling round in a windmill motion with a taller brown haired student following close behind. Their hair was tussled and given the way Hinata was wearing his shirt on backwards they had just gotten out of bed.

 

“We saw you from our window! It was amazing!”

 

“Yeah! Bokuto-san why didn’t you tell us you were practicing this morning?”

 

“Ah, sorry Inouka, Akaashi was busy the rest of the day so we agreed to train really early today instead. I didn’t think anyone would want to join.”

 

“Oh! OK.” Akaashi took note of the open longing on both the third year’s faces, it was obvious that they wanted to join in but felt unsure about whether or not they would be welcomed. Usually it was only Akaashi and Bokuto; occasionally Kuroo would swing round to check on Akaashi’s progress. At least that was what he said he was doing, Akaashi was ninety percent sure that he came mainly to annoy Bokuto.

 

“Actually I was just about to leave; I need to have breakfast before lessons begin.” Bokuto swivelled round to stare at him, was that disappointment he could see?

 

“You sure?” The Gryffindor sounded a little subdued, no enough to go into full dejected mode but definitely not as happy as before.

 

“Yes. I really should get something to eat. Goodbye Hinata-kun, Inouka-kun, Bokuto-san.”

 

“Uh, alright then.” He turned to his two housemates, grin firmly back in place. “In that case, do you guys want to join me for some practice?”

 

The twin shouts of yes rivalled Bokuto’s whooping in volume and the two dashed off for the changing rooms. Bokuto chuckled at their enthusiasm and Akaashi’s smile had yet to fade.

 

“Y’know that we don’t have to stop just because they’re here right?” Bokuto asked and Akaashi appreciated the concern he could detecet. He knew that he’d be more than welcome to join; Hinata and Inouka were unprejudiced, friendly and nice individuals. They were loud but he’d long since adjusted to the increased volume which hanging around Bokuto entailed.

 

But it wouldn’t be the same, and he really did have plans.

 

“I know, but I do have to go.”

 

“Hmm, alright then. Next training session on Saturday at 4pm?”

 

“That sounds doable.” He was about to move before a thought occurred to him. He glanced across to meet Bokuto’s gaze and let his smile widen a little and said with utter sincerity. “Thank you Bokuto-san.”

 

Bokuto stared back, a little surprised at the words but soon recovered. He crossed his arms and beamed back; bright, warm, friendly everything that Akaashi wasn’t.

 

“It’s no problem. Thanks for all your help too!”

 

“I’ll see you later Bokuto-san.”

 

“Bye Akaashi!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right so this was later than I would have liked but it's finally up. This hasn't been read by my beta, they have a lot of work to be doing and I don't want to add to that so this one and the next few are going to be un-betad. I apologise in advance for the mistakes that I'll miss in editing. This was requested by Jamsamsu and hopefully I'm getting better at writing these two.
> 
> Also THANK YOU guys for all the support!
> 
> I will be opening requests in another two chapters but currently it's still closed. A little note about that I don't write smut, non-con, self-harm or death. If you're unsure about what you can request ask my in the comments or via [my tumblr](http://what-fire-is-in-mine-ears.tumblr.com/).
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Gen - Muggle technology for Inkerz  
> Future drabbles: Gen - intimidating Hinata for cyclonesystem (tumblr request), Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	18. Gen - Technology

**Mobile Phone**

Why had he thought that this would be a good idea? Why couldn’t he have been satisfied with owl post over the summer? But no, instead in a moment of complete lunacy he had told Kuroo to get a mobile phone and then shown him how to use the bloody thing. To be fair he’d done the same thing with Suga and Asahi. Suga as it turned out was a natural with muggle technology and eagerly awaited the start of each year when Daichi would bring something new for him to examine.

 

Kuroo was apparently trying to found out how far he could push Daichi until he snapped and hexed him the next time they met. What made it even worse was that he’d managed to convince Bokuto to get one as well and the final week of last year had involved a lot of sniggering. Daichi felt like he should apologise to Akaashi for what he’d unknowingly unleashed. His own phone began to vibrate on his desk, and with a resigned sigh he entered the key code to unlock it. A brand new text message waited for him in his inbox.

 

_Is ther any wy to delete a txt messge once its been snt?_

It had clearly been hurriedly typed and the lack of stupid smiling emoticons made him nervous. This wasn’t Kuroo being his annoying self, this was Kuroo being his oh-shit-I-messed-up-and-now-I’m-panicking self. He could feel the oncoming headache.

 

_What did you do?_

He was tempted to add this time but that would only send Kuroo off on a tangent about how he never caused that much trouble, and he really didn’t have time for that. It usually took a gigantic mess up to panic Kuroo so just he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

 

_Well I was texting Bokuto and we were discussing who has the most adorable boyfriend._

Daichi’s frown slipped into place despite the fact that Kuroo couldn’t see him.

 

_Why the hell were you talking about something so stupid?_

_Because he thought Akaashi was cuter than you!! >:( I had to make him see the truth!_

_I don’t even want to know. What happened?_

_This is where it gets funny._

_What did you do Kuroo?_

He was really getting concerned now. Kuroo was usually a little proud after causing mischief and it was Daichi’s biggest clue that he’d done something wrong. It had been a great help for the prefect over the years,

 

_So we started swapping pictures of you 2 as proof._

Showing him how to use the camera had caused him many months of regret. Dread started to pool in his stomach.

 

_Just skip to what you did wrong._

_We may have sent two certain photos of you and Akaashi to everyone we know with a phone._

Utter silence and Daichi stares frozen at his screen. This had to be a nightmare. A second message soon followed.

 

_It’s not a bad picture!!!_

He was halfway through reading it when his phone buzzed again. A message from Bokuto and a new one from Kuroo. Fingers numb he opened it and nearly choked at the sight of his own sleeping face on Kuroo’s lap. He hadn’t known Kuroo had taken a photo. He switched to Bokuto’s message and there was Akaashi stood in the owlry looking out the window with one, two, three owls on his body. Two small ones on his shoulder and a bigger greyer one on his head. The Slyhterin had a soft gleam in his eyes as he examined the birds, hair messed up from his newest friend, it was a surprising look on him. One that Daichi was sure no-one but Bokuto was meant to see.

 

One new message from Suga.

 

_I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this peaceful._

He moved back to his conversation with Kuroo and started typing.

_No-one will ever find your body._

_??????_

_I suggest you say goodbye to Bokuto before Akaashi gets hold of him and I find you._

**Computer**

This was not what he had expected to happen. Daichi blinked stupidly at the sight in front of him. Suga was sat at a desk happily googling while simultaneously typing up his Potions notes on a document. Asahi was peering over his shoulder in awe of what was happening on the screen, eyes darting from left to right trying to make sense of a sight that was so odd to the wizarding world. It was bizarre and more than a little jarring.

 

It had been a test for the Room of Requirement. To see the extent of its abilities, see if it could create objects solely from the muggle world. He’d wanted a simple set-up; a desk, lamp and computer and when he’d opened the door it had been like walking into his father’s office back home. The implications of it were huge but one of his primary reasons for the test was an image of Karasuno movie nights; allowing the muggleborns and half-bloods to stay connected to the other world they were a part of and introducing the purebloods to Disney films.

 

Asahi hadn’t been too thrilled about leaving breakfast early but one look from Daichi had gotten him up pretty quickly. They’d managed to leave largely unnoticed apart from the squeak of their bench as they’d stood to go. Suga had practically been skipping towards the whole way. He had a fondness for things from the muggle world; it garnered him some odd looks now and then but everyone liked him too much to mock him about it.

 

It had only taken a short lesson for the present scene to come into being. Daichi was forcibly reminded of the near week long amount of time his friend Yui had spent trying to teach him how to use it. She had been very patient but the not-so-muffled laughter of their other friend Ikejiri hadn’t helped at all. So one could forgive him for feeling a little put out about Suga’s apparent mastery of the infernal device in little over an hour.

 

The debate was still going on inside his head about whether or not to let the rest of Karasuno have a go on it. Yes some of the muggleborn members would be fine, and probably little grateful, to have access to a computer again. On the other hand, he could quickly see an issue with unleashing a bunch of teenage pureblood wizards, largely ignorant about the muggle world, out onto the internet. Tanaka especially could be a problem with Noya’s encouragement.

 

Probably best to wait a little longer before telling them about this.

 

Speaking of which it looked like Suga had found Facebook and that signalled the end to his little session. He wasn’t quite sure what the Ministry’s laws were on joining muggle sites but he didn’t think they’d be too happy about a magical being appearing on one of them nor did he want to find out.

 

It was mean but he felt significantly happier when Asahi somehow managed to pick up a computer virus and get lost in an options menu while he was scanning over the morning notes.

 

**Torch**

“Whoa!”

 

“It’s like a permanent Lumos or something. You said a lot of muggles have these things.”

 

“Uh huh! They’re called torches and are super useful. Especially if the power goes out, then you just go click and zing! It’s light again.”

 

“Wait a sec, a torch is a piece of wood with one end on fire. There’s some on the walls in Hogwarts that go phwoosh when you walk by them.”

 

“Those are old torches, like medieval time old. The current ones run on electricity.” Hinata explained grinning as he watched his two housemates turn the device around in their hands. Lev was running his fingers along the switch while Inouka was tapping the top end. The three of them were in an empty classroom; they’d darkened the windows under Hinata’s orders. The identical looks of astonishment when he’d turned the torch on had been hilarious and reminded him strongly of his entering into the magical world.

 

He’d gotten the idea from Daichi who sometimes brought objects to Hogwarts with him for the others to examine. He’d asked his mother to send something and this morning an owl had dropped it in his breakfast. Cereal and milk had splattered everywhere and it had been an unfortunate time for Kageyama to sit with him. The Slytherin had come to tell him about the next Karasuno meeting and had ended up trying to throttle Hinata being held back only by Bokuto. The captain had been hit by the food shrapnel as well but he’d taken it in good humour, laughing as he saved his small seeker from being eviscerated by his rival.

 

“Oh! I know about that stuff it’s like controlled lightning or something that muggles keep in their houses right?” Inouka beamed. “That sounds really cool!”

 

“Electricity’s great! I guess you could say it’s a little like muggle magic and it powers things like television and video games.” Lev frowned and held the torch out in front of him in a way oddly reminiscent of a lightsaber.

 

“Sounds a little dangerous if you ask me. What happens if it gets free and hits someone?”

 

“Usually a zap and I think the person’s hair stands on end. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”

 

So caught up in their questions the trio didn’t hear the footsteps getting closer and closer with each second. Nor did they hear the turning of a doorknob or the creak of the door. They did however, hear these words spoken at them:

 

“What in Merlin’s name are you three doing here?” Sadly without the warning of the previous noises the three boys were caught completely unaware by the fairly inoffensive statement. Inouka and Hinata jumped up and clung to one another; eyes screwed shut in fear as their yells echoed round the room. Lev had the thought of pointing his wand at the intruder though unfortunately forgot that the object grasped in his hand was not a wand.

 

Morisuke Yaku was not expecting to be met with an intense beam of light when he entered the room and his own yelp of pain was added to the jumble of noises. He threw an arm over his stinging eyes and groaned when he recognised the three distinct screams.

 

“Y-Yaku-san?”

 

“What the hell was that Lev!? I can’t see at all.”

 

“Hinata you didn’t say this thing could blind people!”

 

“It doesn’t! Well I guess it can be used for that bu-”

 

“Are you alright Yaku-san?”

 

“Will one of you three please help me already?!”

 

It was a while before Hinata asked for another muggle item to show to his friends.

 

**Video Games**

“Stand still so I can kill you already!” Yasushi Kamasaki glared sideways at the smirking fourth year. His attention split between the re-spawning of his character and the infuriating look on Kenji Futakuchi’s face. When the half-blood had suggested this type of muggle entertainment he had left out the seven years’ experience he possessed. He was now using every one of those seven years to wipe the floor with his increasingly irritated upperclassman.

 

“Eh? But where’s the fun in that? It’s not my fault that you suck at this.”

 

“You didn’t tell me how to play! All you did was hand me this thing and tell me to press things.”

 

“I thought your natural talent would see you through.”

 

“You liar, you knew full well th-”

 

“Hey look I killed you again.” Sure enough Kamasaki’s screen had faded to black once more. The noise of anger which followed would have been considered intimidating by most but the cheeky Slytherin merely revelled in his partner’s emotional state.

 

Sat a little further from the bickering duo there other friends watched with growing resignation as the familiar scene unfolded. Kaname Moniwa shook his head; he really didn’t know why Kamasaki agreed to the challenge when he’d never heard of a video game before. His friend was a bright student but he didn’t take Muggle Studies nor had he had much, if any, contact with the muggle world. This was doomed from the start but Kamasaki had never been good at ignoring Futakuchi’s words; the two had never been able to get on and the rest of their little group kept a scoreboard on who won each argument or confrontation. Kamasaki had the current lead but Futakuchi was catching up quickly.

 

At Moniwa’s side Takanobu Aone continued to revise for his Potions test. It was this afternoon and the professor had warned them it would be particularly difficult; not reassuring for someone who struggled with the delicate touch that Potions required. Whenever he stepped into the classroom he felt too big, too clumsy surrounded by fragile vials and temperamental cauldrons which more often than not malfunctioned around him.

 

He was not so engrossed in the description of various animal parts and their qualities in potion-making that he wasn’t aware of the arguing between the two boys. Kamasaki had apparently run out of ‘lives’ leaving Futakuchi to be declared the winner. The words ‘cheat’ and ‘unfair’ had been used resulting in a slightly more heated quarrel, with Kamasaki looking about two seconds away from strangling the other.

 

“Aone.” Moniwa pointed at the two squabbling on the floor. “If one of them tries to lunge at the other can you step in please?”

 

He nodded and not two minutes later was stood up holding them apart as Moniwa calmly switched off the television.

 

-

 

“How are you so good at this?” Hinata whined and watched mournfully as his last Pokémon’s HP sunk to 0.

 

“It’s pretty simple once you know the basics.” Kenma mumbled as his Ghastly went up another level. The two third years were sat on a bench in the courtyard; both hunched over the devices in their hands.

 

“You learnt how to play a week ago!”

 

“I’m very grateful for that Shouyou.” Hinata’s pout transformed into his usual bright grin. It was only a tiny change but he could sense the honesty in Kenma’s tone. It made him very happy that he’d found something which made hid indifferent friend happy, even if it wasn’t something as cool as Quidditch. It baffled him that Kenma didn’t want to play but the Ravenclaw could be persuaded now and again to help Hinata with his own training. Pretty soon he’d be able to fly against that jerk Kageyama, just yesterday Bokuto-san had complimented him on a successful dive; he’d actually managed to stay on the broom the whole way through.

 

“Yeah this is a cool series.” Kenma finally looked up at that, eyes zeroing in on Hinata with startling intensity. He can almost see a light bulb switching on above his head.

 

“Series?”

 

“Oh right I forgot to tell you that. There’s more than one game and the others have better graphics and even more Pokémon.”

 

“Really?” There was definite interest now.  A gleam in those eyes which told Hinata he’d be playing, and most likely losing, more battles against Kenma in the future.

 

“I can ask my sister to send me some if you want. Ooh! I’ll also ask her for Mario Kart that’s always fun, although it could end in a lot of yelling.”

 

“Is that because I’ll beat you again?”

 

“No-one beats me at Mario Kart! Ever.” Kenma shrugged and focused back on the game, but there is the barest hint of humour in his tone.

 

“You said that about this as well.”

 

“I’m going to win next time for sure!”

 

“Of course Shouyou.”

 

Whoever says Kenma isn’t competitive is blind, Hinata thought as his friend became absorbed in the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I'm a bit unsure how this turned out and I know it's shorter than others but hopefully you guys like it. Again this is un-betad. I finally got to write about Datekou which was good. I still don't know about where to sort them which is why only one of them has a mentioned house. I take sorting very seriously but I'm very unsure about this group so if any of you have any opinions about them I'd love to hear them. This was requested by Inkerz.
> 
> Requests are closed but only for one more chapter.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Gen - intimidating Hinata for cyclonesystem (tumblr request)  
> Future drabbles: Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi, Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	19. Gen - Intimidating

There were not many people, magical or otherwise, who would look at Shouyou Hinata and see someone intimidating. Any eruptions of anger were more akin to a puppy yelping than a burst of fury. The Gryffindor was a happy boy; he preferred being in a good mood to being upset, he liked to get on with others and there was always a gleam of wonder in his eyes when he bounced around the castle. Hence he was not good at striking fear into the hearts of others with a single look.

 

At least not under normal circumstances.

 

Suga heaved a sigh as the words in front of started to blur into one inky mess. It was another study session for the odd little group of individuals he and Daichi had managed to collect. They’d managed to persuade Professor Takeda to let them use his classroom for an hour after dinner, it was on the condition that they didn’t break anything and returned the desks back to the way they were so it was a strictly no magic zone; reading and writing activities only.

 

The fifth year was currently doing research for his latest Defence Against the Dark Arts essay but the murmured whispering from the corner was getting increasingly worrisome. He wasn’t sure exactly what Noya and Tanaka were supposed to be studying but he didn’t think it involved energetic pointing at a drawing and high-fiving.

 

Hinata was stood by the desk nearly vibrating with repressed energy; eyes flickering between various corners of the room and the door. The third year was clearly waiting for someone and Suga grinned, it had been a weight off his shoulders when the sour relationship between Hinata and Kageyama had improved. From what Kageyama had told him he’d rescued Hinata from some bullies in the corridor and the explosive arguments had gotten a lot less serious in nature. Suga would even go so far as to call them friends, shaky ones true, but the potential was there. Though he suspected they would still have plenty of awkward moments and childish yelling matches before all the bumps were evened out.

 

The atmosphere of the group had improved dramatically as well; he looked down to hide his grin at the impatient third year. There was more than one restless underclassman in the room. Yamaguchi was giving an impressive show of examining the professor’s book case but he too was sending unsettled looks towards the door.

 

From the noise echoing down the hallway it looked like their wait would be over soon. Except it wasn’t just footsteps, Suga frowned and Daichi looked up from his Astronomy chart at the unmistakeable sound of raised voices. It had to be Kageyama and Tsukishima, the two could argue over the colour of the sky if they wanted to, and they probably would once they’d exhausted every other topic to fight about. With a wearied sigh he shut the book, not without a little relief he could admit, and readied himself for whatever maelstrom might come into the room.

 

“It’s an extra hour of training a week, it shouldn’t cut in to your time that much.”

 

“It’s an extra hour with Kuroo and Oikawa which is enough for me to refuse.”

 

“You can’t get by doing the bare minimum Tsukishima!” The volume had been steadily increasing as the two approached the classroom. Yamaguchi had given up any pretence of examining the bookcase and had joined Hinata by the desk, concerned expression matching Suga’s as the two Slytherins entered.

 

Tsukishima looked vaguely irritated but Suga could see the beginnings of real anger stirring below the indifferent mask. Kageyama was frowning at him as usual but there was a touch of bewilderment in his features that sat oddly on his forehead. This did not look like a situation that could possibly end well, a little like Asahi being dared to go into the Forbidden Forest at night.

 

“Then I’ll go when they take my position away.” Tsukishima said, setting his books on a spare table, his fingers curled around the spines and there was a harshness in his voice that sent warning lights off in Suga’s head. He glanced over to Yamaguchi and saw the same panic reflected in his eyes, but more than that there was disappointment. At least that was what Suga thought he could see.

 

Kageyama’s confusion only grew along with his frustration. “What’s the matter with you? Don’t you want to be on the team? Don’t you want to play Quidditch? Don’t you want to win?” With each question he took a step towards the taller teen, Hinata was watching the two with an unsure gaze; trying to piece together what was going on. Tsukishima hunched over, just the slightest, both Suga and Yamaguchi made a move to intervene but they were a few seconds too late to prevent Kageyama’s last question. “Don’t you want to fight with our team?”

 

“ _Our_ team.” Tsukishima snorted and rose to his full height again. He turned to face his housemate, eyes sharp and tone cutting. “Don’t make me laugh. The king doesn’t want a team; he wants commoners to obey him. Don’t think I haven’t seen you in the air. The genius seeker, hovering grandly above everyone else looking down on them, alone in the sky. Not really part of the team at all.”

 

Suga knew he should have moved quicker because Kageyama’s expression and gets very tight. It wasn’t a secret that one of the Slytherin’s issues was the way their seeker seemed detached from the rest of the team. What was a secret was Kageyama’s own feelings on the issues; feelings that Suga knew about because he was the one Kageyama had come too when he’d felt the distance between him and his teammates and asked Suga what to do about it.

 

Feelings which meant Kageyama said nothing in response to Tsukishima’s words because he thought it was true; that he was alone in the air. Suga felt his own temper flare but he squashed it under a blanket of fairness and patience; getting mad wouldn’t help the situation. He felt Daichi come stand behind him and he assumed the others were either watching or gathering closer as well. Words gathered on the tip of his tongue and he readied himself to once again play mediator between the two warring boys.

 

“He’s not alone.”

 

The voice cut through the air, it wasn’t loud or particularly emotive but there was an underlying core of steel present which turned everyone’s head.

 

Hinata stared at Tsukishima. His arms were folded, hands hidden by the extra material of a robe two sizes too big, and a blob of ink stained his left cheek.

 

It sent a chill down Suga’s spine.

 

The yelping puppy had gone; in its place was a growling lion. It hadn’t bared its claws or lunged at a victim it was merely announcing its presence. A warning that it was dangerous.

 

Brown eyes that had glimmered with innocence were now locked on Tsukishima. A smile had vanished but it wasn’t replaced with a frown just an oddly determined set of the mouth. Even his orange mess of hair seemed less fluffy.

 

But the biggest change was in his magic.

 

Hinata’s magic was as warm and fuzzy as the boy himself, as odd as it sounded it felt sweet even when casting offensive spells. There was none of that now. It crackled with energy that felt all the more intimidating because it was controlled. Metallic. That was the word. His magic felt metallic, like someone was rubbing a sharpened blade along his arm. There wasn’t any pressure being put on it but the point raised goosebumps on his skin. He felt like he could look down and see the trail from his wrist to his shoulder. It was the equivalent of a muggle solider preparing himself to face the threat of combat.

 

It was also fairly powerful for a third year.

 

What frightened Suga a little was the potential for growth he could vaguely sense; as his magic was starting to develop it's future potency and he could catch a glimpse of it now.

 

“He’s not alone in the air.” He spoke again when Tsukishima didn’t, or more accurately was too surprised to, respond. “Because I fly with him.”

 

“Please.” But there was a tremor of unease in the scoff. “You’ve not been able to keep up with him once.”

 

“One day I will, but until then,” that laser gaze snapped onto Kageyama who had been staring at Hinata along with the rest of them, “I’ll keep chasing you. So even if I’m not beside you I’ll be behind you a little closer each time.”

 

Suga felt torn between relief, worry, and pride. He was proud of what Hinata had said, both because it showed how much the relationship between him and Kageyama had improved and because those were the words Kageyama needed to hear. Suga could reassure him and offer advice as much as he wanted but in the end Kageyama had needed someone to stand by him either as a teammate or a rival. Someone to share the sky with.

 

If it was possible Kageyama looked even more stunned, and perhaps a little embarrassed but there was also a quiet joy unfolding in his wide blue eyes.

 

He hadn’t defended himself from the accusations but another person had.

 

“Tch, this is getting too touchy-feely for my tastes. I don’t need to study for the Charms exam anyway.” Tsukishima looked unruffled and bent to pick up the books he’d placed on the desk. “Let’s go Yamaguchi.”

 

That was an order, Suga felt his temper stir again.

 

“Y-yeah, coming Tsuki!” Yamaguchi ran to pick up his books and parchment; pressed awkwardly against his chest they would make walking more of a challenge than it should be. Suga opened his mouth to say something but a hand on his shoulder made him pause. He glanced sideways to see Daichi minutely shake his head.

 

Once he felt Suga’s shoulder loosen in defeat, he wouldn’t say anything this time, his friend looked back up at their flustered housemate.

 

“Yamaguchi.” The boy stopped with one foot out the door. “We’re meeting again in three days. We’ll be back in the Room of Requirement again.”

 

“Yes Daichi-san. I- uh I’ll let Tsuki know. Bye everyone.”

 

That was the cue for everyone else to go and a chorus of goodbye’s followed Yamaguchi out the door.

 

An uncomfortable silence might have followed but Daichi had clearly had enough drama for one day. Suga couldn’t blame him. It was his, Daichi’s and Asahi’s O.W.L. year this year and the workload was starting to crush them.

 

“Alright let’s get back to work. Professot Takeda said we’ve only got this room for an hour and I want to leave it in one piece otherwise we might not get it again.”

 

A chuckle escaped Suga at that. “You’re one of his favourite students, I’m pretty sure he won’t mind if one or two things are out of place.”

 

“One or two things yes, a blown-up bookcase because Tanaka wanted to show off is something else.” Tanaka’s wounded hey was drowned under a burst of laughter and the group split up again to different corners of the room. He nodded at Daichi as he and Asahi returned to their charts, though his large friend still looked concerned over what had happened he was sure a quick comment from Daichi would put him at ease, if not scare him into forgetting it.

 

He loitered a moment, fiddling with a loose string on his sleeve, to see if Hinata was back to, well, normal. He and Kageyama hadn’t moved, the seeker still staring at Hinata like the other had summoned an elemental army in front of him.

 

“Man that was rude even for Tsukishima. Hey Kageyama, you okay?”

 

“I’m fine idi- I’m fine Hinata.”

 

“You sure? You looked a little weird before, kinda like you were constipated or something.” Suga slammed his hand across his mouth to prevent his laughter from escaping. The air around Kageyama bristled with irritation.

 

“What the hell? No I didn’t!”

 

“Yeah you really did! Your mouth was all scrunched up and-”

 

“I did not look like I was…I didn’t!”

 

“You did!”

 

“I did not!”

 

Definitely back to normal. Suge let the last of his worry go and returned to struggling with that blasted essay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was difficult for me to write and I really couldn't make it any longer than I have but I gave it my best shot. I'm going to be a little busier now because I'm preparing for returning to university but I should be able to update this fairly regularly. Once again this is unbetad. This was requested by cyclonesystem on tumblr who I hope enjoys it along with the rest if you awesome people!
> 
> EDIT: Requests are now closed! I've had over 20 in less than 2 days so I'm going to have to close them again. Thank you to everyone who requested, I'm very sorry if you didn't get a chance to but the list was just getting too long to keep it open.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Kurodai - Sick!Kuroo + Nursing!Daichi for Mochushi  
> Future drabbles: Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister, Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request).


	20. Kurodai - Illness

A blanket of snow covered the land. It was one of the coldest winters on record and the few students who had opted to stay behind for the holidays clustered around the few hot spots in the castle. Frost spiralled in pretty patterns across the windows and there was a constant stream of people going in and out of the kitchens, mugs of hot chocolate gripped tightly in their hands. Despite the cold it really was a beautiful sight; even the Forbidden Forest sparkled in the early morning as the sun shone down on the snow-capped trees.

 

Sadly it was not a sight that Kuroo was in a mood to properly appreciate. The fifth year had woken up and wanted to stay in his bed for a week. Dry throat, fever, headaches, blocked nose and a pain in his ear which was making him feel extraordinarily dizzy. The fact that all his teachers had been talking about the importance of preparation for his O.W.L.S was an added stress factor. It didn’t help that the Slytheirn common room was situated in the dungeons; Salazar may have been a cunning bastard but all common sense had clearly gone to Helga, whose students could practically roll out of bed and into the kitchens.

 

If the rest of the castle was cold then the dungeons were freezing, even the fire blazing in the wall couldn’t rid the room and dormitories of the constant creeping chill which sunk into the bones and stayed there. Still staying in bed would have been a better option than his current situation.

 

He’d needed to send a letter to his mother, she’d been a little hurt when he’d opted to stay at school over Christmas and he’d promised to write at least once a week since she was his favourite parent. A second letter was also being sent to Kenma, someone had to make sure his friend didn’t stay locked in his room all winter. Unfortunately that meant leaving the relative warmth of his bed covers for the drafty Owlery up in the West Tower. The letters had been given to his owl, one of the few creatures he actually liked and even rarer who liked him back; how Bokuto seemed to get on with every beast he encountered was a mystery to him. A moment was spent watching his bird disappear over the horizon before the warmth of his bed beckoned and he’d started the long trek down to the dungeons.

 

Back to a cocoon of warm blankets.

 

That had been the plan.

 

Right up until a dizzy spell had hit him as he passed by the inner courtyard. An arm shot out to brace himself against the stone doorway but the sudden light-headedness made him feel nauseous and he was pretty sure that seeing black spots wasn’t a sign of perfect health. The stone offered some stability but a feeble groan slipped past his lips when he looked down and saw the floor spinning below his feet.

 

Could this day get any worse?

 

“Kuroo?” His head snapped up, which was an even worse idea than his whole leave-the-bed-plan, and he blinked to clear his rapidly swirling vision. The features of the speaker sharpened into very familiar ones and Kuroo was torn between wanting the floor to swallow him, it was a magic castle he just might get lucky, and trying to sort out the mess between them.

 

Daichi Sawamura was another reason for the ball of bad feelings sat at the bottom of his stomach.

 

Whatever the hell he’d said to the other on the train that had caused Daichi to yell at him had been hanging over their interactions all through first term. The prefect still yelled at him, still got that cute annoyed frown on his face whenever Kuroo called out to him and still faced him in the air with the same determination and skill.

 

Except now there was something awkward about it. A subtle shift happening in the other that left Kuroo feeling unbalanced and concerned. Things weren’t as easy or natural as they’d been before. He felt like he had to apologise for whatever he’d said in the train that had upset the other but they were never alone or whenever they were Daichi seemed to vanish as soon as he turned around.

 

It was frustrating, and more than a little disheartening that the target of his affections seemed to be angry with him for an unknown reason, well at least unknown to him.

 

With these thoughts jumbling around in his skull he forced himself upright, he’d spotted the other around over the first few days of the holidays and had actually been planning to talk to him today before he’d woken up with his tongue twice its normal size. Words formed in his throat, a hopefully casual greeting rather than a plea for information about what he’d done wrong, but they didn’t make it into the air as another dizzy spell struck.

 

He had just a couple of seconds to see worry turn into shocked concern as his knees bent under his weight and gravity grabbed hold of him. The floor rose up to meet him but there was at least a thin silver lining in that his vision faded before he hit the ground.

 

“Kuroo!” The shout rang in his ears as he slipped into darkness.

 

-

 

Daichi had rarely been so grateful for the reflexes playing Quidditch gave him. There was only a metre or so between him and Kuroo and he crossed it in one fluid half step-half leap and caught the other around the waist before his face met stone. Dead weight sagged against his side but he was strong enough to support the lanky teen. One glance told him the other had fallen unconscious and vague worry finished its transformation into heartfelt fear.

 

A quick check revealed that the Slytherin had a burning forehead and the way his breathing seemed laboured offered Daichi little peace of mind.

 

He had to get him to the mediwitch immediately. Abandoning all thoughts of a library study session he hauled the other up against him and headed back down the corridor, desperately trying to ignore the sick feeling contorting around his heart. That feeling would not be of any use to either of them.

 

The trip took twice as long as usual carrying a weakened Kuroo and he had to stop several times in order to adjust the weight so that he didn’t drop him. But eventually the clean crisp scent of the Hospital Wing invaded his senses and with a little extra struggle he was able to bundle Kuroo onto one of the spare beds. He paused for a moment to check the other’s temperature; it had risen during the walk and Kuroo’s skin felt dry and hot under Daichi’s palm. A curse slipped past his lips.

 

He needed to find the mediwitch, now.

 

-

 

Kuroo wasn’t sure what to make of his current dream; he didn’t think you were meant to feel like dragon shit in them but at the same time there was a nice smell in the air which put him at ease and his body felt utterly boneless.

 

When had he even fallen asleep?

 

Everything felt fuzzy and ill-defined kinda like the time he and Bokuto had snuck into the Hogs Head to try their first sips of fire whiskey. Plus he felt very warm and he’d definitely been cold before. Maybe he’d managed to make his way bed after all. He could do without the harsh white light burning into his eyes, he wanted to block it out with his hands but they felt as if they were carved of stone and he was stuck blinking up at the too strong whiteness.

 

The heat was getting worse too slowly burning fiercer inside him. His throat cried out for water and his eyelids were stuck together with crust. Bottom line he felt terribly uncomfortable and there wasn’t anything he could do about it except for groan a little.

 

Which seemed to do the trick.

 

The unbearable brightness was blocked out by a dark blobby shape much to the relief of his eyeballs. The sound of splashing water echoed in his ears and then blessed coolness across his forehead. Cold liquid trickled down to his ears but he didn’t care as the heat retreated in the face of the chilled relief. The source of his relief, a towel or something he guessed, was then wiped down the rest of his face and rubbed gently across his eyes.

 

A sigh escaped at the ministrations and though his body still felt like he’d gone a couple of rounds with a troll he felt infinitely more human.

 

Splashing water again and the coolness returned to his forehead.

 

It reminded him of the time he’d gotten ill when he was seven; his mother had sat by him for the entire week he’d been bedridden, gently ensuring that he was well cared for and as comfortable as he could possibly be given the circumstances.

 

The dark shape returned into his vision only this time his eyes were clean and the shapeless mass sharpened into something more distinct, or rather someone.

 

This had to be a dream.

 

And a damn good one at that.

 

Because there was no way in the entire magical world that Daichi Sawamura would be leaning over him, brown eyes gleaming with care and concern. Suddenly his leaden body, raging temperature and sore throat weren’t as terrible as he’d first thought.

 

“Sleeping beauty awakens then.” Wow, it even sounded an awful lot like the Hufflepuff.

 

“Don’t know who that is…but any compliment to my appearance is…appreciated.” His voice sounded like he’d been gargling nails all morning but he got the words out with only minor difficulty. The hallucination paused in his actions and stared down at him. Just like when he was awake his skin tingled under the gaze and his heart beat began to thrum loudly in his ears.

 

“It’s a muggle fairy tale. How are you feeling?”

 

“Like I’ve been used as target…practice for the centaurs…my throat’s as….dry as a dessert.” It felt like cacti would start sprouting in an instant. He let out a breath which rattled along his throat.

 

A cup was pressed up to his lips and despite it being imaginary he wanted to cry at the water pouring through his thirsty mouth. It was removed almost instantly and he attempted to scowl, that was good dream-water.

 

“Slowly, otherwise you’ll get sick.” Responsible as always.

 

The phrase ‘yes mom’ begged to be said but his mouth was too busy taking small exaggerated sips from the offered cup.

 

“How you manage to do even this sarcastically I don’t know.” Kuroo paused and felt a remnant of his usual smirk form on his face.

 

“It’s a gift.” There was the eye rolling and the irritated but also resigned huff of breath which signalled that the prefect knew it was no point in arguing with him.

 

The next gulp of water tasted odd on his tongue, slightly sticky and thick. A snort sounded above him and his eyes flicked up again.

 

“It’s been mixed with a potion to help you get better.”

 

“Tastes like…Bokuto’s attempt at making owl food.”

 

“I’m not even going to ask how you know that.”

 

“You should it’s a fun story and I’m pretty sure I could tell….it in a way that makes me seem…cool.” This provoked a real bark of laughter and Kuroo wasn’t sure whether he should feel pleased or offended.

 

“Another gift of yours I presume?”

 

“I’m a…very,” he paused to cough, “gifted person.” The weird watered down potion was offered again and he was so tempted to purse his lips together because it really does taste awful but years of his mother’s terrifying looks whenever he’d try and refuse medicine in the past conditioned him to swallow the foul gloop.

 

“Nice to know your personality hasn’t been too affected, I’d miss having to yell at you if it changed too much.” A twinge in his chest that had nothing to with his illness made him hum.

 

What could it hurt?

 

It was only a dream after all and it might help give him some new angles to work with.

 

“Why have you been avoiding me?” Fingers tightened around the cup and even in a dream he could see the paling of Daichi’s skin.

 

“What? I haven-”

 

“Nuh uh, something’s…different about you…you don’t act the same…as usual.”

 

“It’s exam year Kuroo of course things are going to be a little different.” Convincing but the tone was deceptively light, how come even dream-Daichi was trying to sidestep this particular conversation.

 

“I’ve seen you…stressed before. This is different…something I did…on the train.” There was no missing the way that the other’s spine stiffened or the way panic bloomed in his eyes before he looked away, busying himself with the potion.

 

“That wasn’t….it wasn’t anything Kuroo.”

 

Lie.

 

“I made you mad.” The words ‘I said leave’ resounded in his skull, the pain in his chest and the hopelessness of his feelings ever being returned. The fury had been upsetting enough but the underlying hurt which fuelled it had been the worst thing about the encounter, somehow he’d hurt Daichi. “I hurt you.”

 

“No you-”

 

“Yes.” He spoke as emphatically as he could, he wouldn’t hide from he’d done. “Yes…I did and I’m-I’m sorry.” A weight lifts from his chest and the tension drained from his body. Even if it was only a placebo-apology the effect felt real.

 

Daichi looked genuinely stunned, mouth slightly agape and hands frozen over the bowl of water.

 

“You really do-”

 

“Will you stop being weird now….” so maybe he could phrase that a little better, “can we go back to normal….I miss you.” He’s not terribly used to being this open even in his dreams but it’s the truth. He was desperately missing the normalcy of their interactions, missed the banter, the arguments the way the other would grind out his name when he was truly pissed off at him. He’d give up all thoughts of confessing fi he could fix whatever had gone wrong, the stilted static nature of their relations this year had been awful, he didn’t want to do another two full terms of it.

 

“…It’s not….what I mean is….” A hand tilted his chin up and he sucked in a breath as he was brought right up close to those dangerous brown eyes which had far more power over him than he’d like to admit. He was a pining mess he knew it but there was no reason to let others know.

 

“You don’t have to apologise it’s not- well I guess it is a little, but it’s not all your fault. I’m just a little…confused right now. It was just bad timing and a…poor choice of words on your part.” The smile Kuroo could make out looked regretful and that was wrong but Daichi kept on speaking. “So I’m sorry too.”

 

He opened his mouth to protest only to gag as he got another cup-full of potion. He swallowed it as quickly as he could to voice his objection.

 

“No.” The cup remained pressed up against his mouth and all he could manage was a mumbled gripe. “You don’t get to fight me on this.”

 

“You’re lucky that I have…a weakness for that cute face of yours.”

 

Only a dream, and even here he felt too tired for a brain to mouth filter. Plus he kinda wanted to see what his subconscious would make of it. It didn’t disappoint.

 

A pretty pink flush spread from Daichi’s ears to his cheeks to his neck, his eyes widened looking more shocked than before.

 

“I uh…think you’re heads a little messed up right now-”

 

“Nope.” He grinned, happy and content at the reactions his words produced. One of the reasons he loved teasing Daichi; his face was very emotive and even after years at Hogwarts that little boy he’d first met and tricked in the carriage remained a part of him. “I always think you’re cute. Though cute in different ways…then you got really hot in-”

 

“OK! I think that’s enough of the potion for you. The mediwitch is dealing with some other patients, seems like whatever you’ve got has been going around the rest of the castle. She said you had to get a lot of rest so you better get on that, right now.” Amusement tugged at his gut.

 

“Have I embarrassed you?”

 

“No!” Yes.

 

“You’re blushing.” A very nice shade of red at this point.

 

“Go to sleep Kuroo.”

 

“How do you go to sleep in a dream?” Daichi sat up straight, a calculating edge to his eyes as he scanned Kuroo’s prone body.

 

“Wait you thin-…you know what just try and get some rest. It’s not the same without you causing mischief in the halls.” He did feel much better, the fake-knowledge that Daichi wasn’t mad at him helped and that disgusting potion had done something to ease the aches in his body.

 

“So you forgive me then?” As a wave of drowsiness washed over him he felt someone brush his forehead. If it was fake or real he couldn’t tell but it felt lovely especially when the hand stroked up into his hair. A noise rumbled in his chest, it wasn’t a purr he didn’t purr despite what his mother, Kenma, Yaku, Bokuto and several members of the Slytherin Quidditch team claimed. It was a strong, intense rumble which signified comfort that was it. So maybe his scalp was a little sensitive and maybe the quickest way to turn him into a boneless ball of goop was to stroke his hair, knowledge which thankfully only his mother and Kenma knew, he didn’t purr.

 

“Yeah.” A fading voice seemed to whisper in his ear. “Yeah I forgive you Kuroo.”

 

It may only have been a dream but the relief felt real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things have been really busy for me recently and I'm going back to university in a couple of weeks so updates are going to be less frequent. I'm hoping to get one drabble done a week. This one really gave me some issues but I think it ended up alright. Once again this is unbetad. This was requested by Mochushi.
> 
> Requests are closed and judging from my new list it's going to take me a while to get through them. Please be patient with me.
> 
> Could Syfka please request again, their original request has already been asked for so they can choose something else if they want too. They were the last one before I shut requests down so the position hasn't changed.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Kurodai - First kiss in Kuroo POV for YukiMeister  
> Future Drabbles: Tsukiyama for Reyline and Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request), Gen Ennoshita + background Ennonoya for niniaan (tumblr request), Asanoya for melamelindah (which will be posted separately to the main work + tumblr request), Kagehina - injured! Kageyama for anon (tumblr request), Kagehina - insecure!Hinata for FranRomo, Iwaoi for Mia, Tsukiyama - first kiss for happyhomura (tumblr request), Gen - Suga mediating for Icie, Kurodai + Suga - flustered!Daichi for Csylia, Kagehina or Suga/? for anon (tumblr request), Kagehina - Potions mishap for theblogrunner (tumblr request), Tsukiyama - confession for noodoo, Bokuaka- confession for isumetric (tumblr request), Bokuaka - first meeting + interactions for MacLee, Kagehina - Sick!Hinata for Ko_Sensei, Kuroo +Kenma for blueraven22, Bokuaka - post fight with Kuroo for eve, Bokuaka - injured!Bokuto for Melanie (tumblr request), Kurodai - jealousy for Kiyoshi teppei (tumblr request), Iwaoi - dueling for Haychiex (tumblr request), Kurodai/Bokuaka - double date for cozynoon (tumblr request), Tsukiyama - happy!Yamaguchi for Galaxy Eyes, Bokuaka - injured!Akaashi - natsume nyankosensei (tumblr request), Bokuaka - cuddling for Mindoriiroo, Iwaoi - Post Hogwarts for setosdarkness, Tsukiyama for anon (tumblr request) and a request for Syfka.


	21. Kurodai - First Kiss 2

Slytherin had won against Ravenclaw. It had been a hard thought battle but it was a promising start to the year for the Quidditch team. There chasers had been nigh unstoppable and it had appeared that Kageyama’s skill as a seeker had not stopped its growth. No-one was injured, no-one got terribly angry at the result and tried to hex the opposing team and some Slytherin’s liked to believe that the other houses looked nervous after the aerial battle. Well most of them part from the Gryffindor team but they weren’t really scared by anything; their captain’s excited yelling about playing against Slytherin was echoed by many of his teammates.

 

The celebration had been in full swing, someone had managed to sneak in a couple of boxes of fire whiskey, butterbeer, and nettle wine and the usual sombre common room was alight with cheers, music and one or two students passed out on the sofas. Even the most reserved members had been persuaded to join in.

 

Akaashi was sat furthest away from the centre; several books spread out in front of him and from the diligent scratching of his quill it seemed at least one of the fifth years would have completed their potions homework. However there was a mug of butterbeer by his inkpot and whenever one of his housemates came up to congratulate the chaser on the game rather than ignore them he would nod in a dignified manner and thank them. Moreover at certain angles one could see a curve on his mouth that might be called a smile. He’d looked less composed after the game when a certain Gryffindor captain had ran right to him and started babbling about how awesome he looked but surely the red face must have been from the exertion of playing in such an intense game.

 

Tsukishima had deigned to sit a little closer to the main group and there was only one book in front of him. It was odd to see the fourth year beater in such a good mood; he’d hardly mocked anyone apart from Kageyama, Oikawa, and Kuroo. Though the incessant pestering of his fellow beater, Kenji Futakuchi would perhaps soon sour his mood.

 

The star seeker who had performed one of the most extraordinary dives in Hogwarts history? He’d somehow found himself pulled to the epicentre of the party; his back was starting to ache from the number of friendly pats he’d received and Kageyama wasn’t sure if he liked the attention all that much but the thrill of victory, of completing the move he’d worked so hard on perfectly, made him more tolerant. If he felt his mood drop he simply had to recall the thrum of ‘yes’ which pulsed through his body as his fingers closed around the fluttering snitch.

 

Rather surprisingly Oikawa wasn’t there; the head chaser had made his excuses after one bottle of fire whiskey before leaving the common room altogether. There had been a mumbled excuse about a test the next day but that clearly hadn’t been all the teen was thinking about. Despite the victory in the battle between himself and Ushijima, the Ravenclaw captain had been the winner. Kuroo had noticed the tightness around his unofficial second-in-command’s eyes and made a note to speak to Iwaizumi if the moron started practicing too hard after hours again.

 

Kuroo himself was not in a jubilant mood. To an outsider it made no sense; the Slytherin captain and keeper had played well, he’d lead his team to triumph in a tough game and had managed to move opinions away from the ironclad view that Slytherin’s played dirty. He was a handsome sixth year student with excellent grades and the heir to one of the most prominent pureblood families, though there were one or two murmurs that all was not well in the Kuroo household. There was more than one student hoping to tie themselves to him, he had his share of admirers; not as many as Oikawa true but who did have as many as him?

 

So it was unusual to look over and see Kuroo sat where he was; alone, he’d brushed off any attempts to come and keep him company, a couple of empty bottles of fire whiskey by his side another in his hand and a melancholic aura around him which was stranger still as Kuroo was genuinely a happy guy when he drank. This quiet misery was at odds with the rest of the room.

 

He looked up when he felt another pair of curious eyes linger on his form. A frown crossing his features as he met the gaze of a fourth year who quickly blushed and resumed talking to her couch companion. He brought the mouth of his current bottle to his lips and drank deep. The sting of the fire whiskey a feeling he was used to but still enjoyed. The noise of the revelry around him made his skin itch, but he was not so deep into his bad mood that he wanted others to suffer it. It was getting late; he’d done his part as captain and shown up, had a few drinks and accepted the first early congratulations before retreating to his current position.

 

His chair squeaked as he pushed back to stand up but no-one noticed, too caught up in a haze of good cheer. Akaashi glanced over at him but one look at his captain’s face told him that Kuroo did not want to be disturbed.

 

The air around him was stuffy and he needed something to clear his head, needed to leave the claustrophobic atmosphere of the common room. With that course of action met he made his way, and only stumbled a little, to the exit.

 

The cool air of the dungeons rushed to greet him, and he let out a sigh of relief as the crispness of the night surrounded him, helped to sharpen his slightly blurred senses.

 

Now what?

 

Perhaps he should check in on The Widow. He’d already asked her earlier if she would mind the inevitable noise the party would produce and she’d said it was fine. Except it was a lot later now and the racket from behind him hadn’t dulled much since it began. It only took a moment to decide which foot to step forward with and he was off.

 

Grey stone, grey, stone, grey stone. The dungeons weren’t exactly the prettiest area in Hogwarts. To say otherwise would be a lie but Kuroo liked the simplicity and some medieval part of him enjoyed the experience of living down below the rest of the castle.

 

Unfortunately, the fascinating nature of the dungeons was unable to distract him for long about the source of his unhappiness. His hands clenched a little at his sides, his back hunched and he bit into his lip from frustration.

 

He didn’t even know what he’d done.

 

It was just getting too pathetic.

 

If he could only let go of those feelings. Let go of the ones which made his heart race, his face blush and his palms sweat. Let go of the ones that had been clawing at him for the past three years ever since he’d seen _him_ laugh on the train in third year.

 

Let go of the emotions which made him feel incredibly dejected when he realised that Daichi was avoiding him _again_ except this time it seemed permanent.

 

**Flashback**

Kuroo waited impatiently outside the Hall doors; it had been three days since he’d seen the Hufflepuff prefect on the train and he wanted to speak to him. Daichi had looked ill as he’d left the compartment and Kuroo wanted to make sure he was alright. Not true. A voice whispered inside his skull, you just need an excuse to talk to him because you’re too pitiful to simply go up and talk to him. He squashed the voice ruthlessly, he had enough of Kenma and Yaku saying things like that, he didn’t need it from his own head.

 

There was a brief glimpse of brown eyes and dark hair; Kuroo straightened up with what he hoped was a casual greeting on his lips. In a couple of seconds he would be able to reassure himself that Daichi was fine and then begin the normal ritual of trying to capture his attention in the most childish way possible. Maybe something along the lines of hinting about a prank he had no intention of pulling enough but which sounded severe enough for Daichi to obsess over it for a few days before he realised Kuroo was lying.

 

At least that was the plan.

 

Two seconds after their eyes met his quarry vanished. Completely disappeared from the room.

 

The throng of students moved by discussing this year’s classes, holiday antics and who had been the one to release a tarantula into the Gryffindor boy’s dormitories. Tsukishima strode by him; his little Hufflepuff friend running after him, half juggling books half swallowing down the remains of the meal. Normally Kuroo would take great delight in disrupting his teammate’s plans to ignore him utterly, Kuroo always won, but he was too busy frowning at the increasingly empty hall.

 

Suga and Asahi walked past, talking about the upcoming matches, but the third member of the trio wasn’t with them.

 

The usual glint of a prefect’s badge was absent, the calm steady voice ushering the last of the students to class didn’t sound out, and the image of a frowning but resigned Hufflepuff did not appear before Kuroo asking why he was loitering around.

 

Concern took the first steps on the path to turning into worry.

 

-

 

Their first class of the year together, Ancient Runes, went in a similar fashion.

 

Kuroo spent the entire class staring at the back of Daichi’s head. His quill lay unmoving on his desk, the parchment in front of him as blank as when he set it down. The professor at the front of the class may as well have been speaking in Greek.

 

This was a well worn track; Kuroo would stare, Daichi would bristle, turn to face him and scowl. Maybe a few words would be spoken or whispered angrily across the room and sometimes a teacher would ask them to be quiet. Kuroo liked those occasions especially, being scolded always made Daichi turn a lovely shade of red and he looked so embarrassed. It was unfairly adorable, like a baby unicorn with a puppy on its back asking you to come play with fluffy owl chicks. A dream Bokuto once had, he’d been so depressed at breakfast the next day because it wasn’t true and had spent the next hour in potions whining to Kuroo about it.

 

Today though it seemed he wouldn’t get that sight, or in fact anything because Daichi remained staring forward the entire class. His head barely turned sideways to speak to his neighbours, he only moved to take notes; for that staring straight down at his work as he copied down what he needed to.

 

It would have been only vaguely disappointing if Kuroo didn’t know that Daichi could tell he was staring at him. Daichi’s shoulders were hunched up to his neck, he twitched when Kuroo had first locked his gaze onto him and there had been a couple of times when he’d looked like he was about to turn before stopping. As if he was fighting a reflex.

 

Daichi was ignoring him.

 

It stung.

 

No, it really stung.

 

They hadn’t said two words to each other yet. Even on the train they’d only looked at each other once before Daichi had practically ran out of the carriage.

 

What could he have done to have caused this?

 

He hadn’t been given the chance to do _anything_!

His parchment remained blank.

 

The worry faded behind a dull thrum of pain.

 

-

 

Term’s first weeks trickled by. Each day filled with almost confrontations, near misses and a growingly familiar sight of the back of Daichi’s head.

 

The pain grew as well.

 

His magic felt sharp, frustrated. The spells which should have come easily to him were struggles to perform as he tried to focus on anything but the desolate feeling in his chest. It was fucking terrible.

 

After the summer that he’d had it had been such a relief to return to Hogwarts. To see his friends again, to live his own life again and not give two shits about what his family wanted. A place where he could just throw letters filled with poisonous words in the fire and return to planning Quidditch strategies with a bribed Kenma.

 

It wasn’t supposed to feel as if the giant squid was using him as a squeezy toy.

 

-

 

“Dude you need to eat.”

 

Kuroo would have argued against the necessity of sustenance if his ‘best friend’ wasn’t trying to drown him in his cereal. As such he only managed an offended gurgle as he inhaled milk up his nose.

 

“I mean, sure pining man refuses to eat because he’s love-sick sounds pretty romantic but the real practicalities about it are a pain to live with. I don’t want to kick your ass in Quidditch because a light breeze can get you off your broom.”

 

Kuroo managed to bat Bokuto’s hand off and emerge with a gasp; white trails of milk dribbled down his robe and he turned with a glare to his innocent looking companion. Without missing a beat he grabbed the milk jug and poured it over Bokuto’s head. The enraged squawk this got sent a ripple of laughter around the table. Kuroo felt marginally better when faced with a scowling Bokuto with milk dripping down his now lank hair.

 

“What was that for?! I was trying to help for Merlin’s sake!”

 

“Attempting to drown me in cornflakes is not my idea of help.” Kuroo replied flicking a piece of cereal off his sleeve. “Besides even if I was starving myself, which I’m not, I’d still be able to stop your shots.”

 

Bokuto shot him an unimpressed look before reaching for the toast, Kuroo’s own hands started to sneak towards the orange juice. Food war it was then.

 

“First of all yes you are, secondly no you wouldn’t, and thirdly-” However, Bokuto didn’t get to state his third point as his head was once again doused in a breakfast liquid. Kuroo grinned.

 

“That should deal with the animal smell around you. Orange is a much better scent. Maybe small children will stop fleeing from you now.” He barely sucked the slices of toast thrown at his head, reaching down for the porridge bowl.

 

“Kids love me! You’re the one who grins and sends the first years screaming.” A snort escaped Kuroo at that, so maybe that was a little true. His fingers curled around the bug serving spoon to throw a lump of porridge at his foe when he noticed Bokuto’s look. A look he had seen in the mirror way too often. The longing look of someone who wishes to reach out and grab what they want above everything else.

 

Kuroo’s eyes follow that look to the retreating back of Akaashi.

 

Another reason he was glad of his friendship with Bokuto; they made each other feel a little less pathetic about their love lives and the obliviousness of the targets of their affections.

 

Bokuto’s feelings were well-known to Kuroo, he felt bad for unwillingly causing Bokuto to stick by his side instead of spending time with Akaashi. The idiot should leave him and go chase after him, start talking about the newest bunch of owl chicks which have hatched in the owlery. But he wouldn’t be Bokuto if he didn’t stay by his side and attempt to kill him with breakfast food while simultaneously making him smile for the first time in days.

 

At least he wasn’t the only one suffering.

 

**Present**

It would just have been so much easier if he hadn’t entered that carriage in his first year. Hadn’t let himself be intrigued by the nervous little muggle in front of him with nice eyes and a warm smile.

 

Easier but not something he wanted, because then he wouldn’t have memories of his laugh, his pout, his game face. Wouldn’t know what it felt like to argue with him and feel their magic spark against one another. Wouldn’t have discovered the heart and strength of the muggleborn’s soul or the cunning glint that would appear in his eyes now and again.

 

But…

 

He wouldn’t feel like this now either.

 

Resigned to continue another night of his pathetic pining he turned the corner, he’d check in with The Widow then go collapse on his bed. Maybe the alcohol would help block out thoughts of his tormentor.

 

Although he wasn’t utterly wasted, the fire whiskey had done enough to dull his senses that it took him a second to fully take in the scene in front of him.

 

Daichi Sawamura was standing at the bottom of the stares yawning. It shouldn’t have been too surprising; the prefects had to patrol the main common room areas at night for a bit before retiring to sleep themselves.

 

Kuroo stared. Took in the haggard appearance, the tired eyes on the face that was now almost strange to him.

 

His foot moved forward. Only two things on his mind; putting an end to this avoidance game this instant and how despite his hurt, anger and frustration his heart still did the stupid flippy thing when he looked at Daichi. Absence apparently did make the heart grow fonder.

 

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” The words, bitter and harsh slipped out before his muddled mind could stop them. Daichi was only half turned towards him and as his voice cut through the silence of the hall the prefect jumped and spun to face the stairs.

 

Avoiding him again.

 

Blackness started to curl around Kuroo’s heart.

 

What imaginary offence had he committed this time?

 

“Still running away from me I see.”

 

This at least got a reaction. Daichi stopped, took a deep breath as if he was about to go into battle and turned to face him. Until that point Kuroo hadn’t been sure if he’d run, at this point he didn’t know how Daichi would react so it jarred him a little when the other turned to face him. He didn’t miss the glimmer of shock cross his face as he took in Kuroo’s appearance and wobbly stance.

 

You did this.

 

He wants to yell it at him. Provoke a reaction. Any reaction at all.

 

Wants to know that Daichi cares about his existence if only a little.

 

You did this to me.

 

I did this to myself.

 

You’ve got my heart in your hands except you don’t know it and you’re ripping it to pieces yet I still don’t take it back form you because I don’t know if I want to or if I can.

 

His breath comes out in short translucent puffs, the coolness of the dungeons making it visible.

 

“You should go back to your room Kuroo-san, curfew is in ten minutes.” So polite, like they were strangers instead of two people who had gravitated towards one another since first year. At the end of fifth year he had maybe, kinda got the feeling that Daichi wasn’t completely against his feelings if he was even aware of them. It had seemed so close and now a chasm, that Daichi had created, lay between them. He snorted and walked forward, crowding up against Daichi. Only a little relieved that the other didn’t back down, that a fire still burnt in his eyes, refusing to let Kuroo have his way completely.

 

It didn’t make up for it though.

 

The easiest thing to grab on to was the anger.

 

“Wouldn’t want me to get in trouble would we Sawamura-san.” The honourific is spat out. For the first time in years he speaks formally, refusing to let Daichi ignore him, ignore what is happening.

 

To get Daichi to look and see.

 

If he is being rejected, he at least wants it in a spoken form.

 

“No, now please go back to your celebration.” If only if it was that simple, except his heart is here being rent apart by dragons.

 

“Tch, please. The others will be fine without me; I’m not in a party mood right now.” Daichi looked genuinely surprised. In any other circumstance Kuroo would say he looked worried.

 

“What? Why? You played really well and your team was great. I’ve never known you to back out of a celebration.” Is he joking? Is he trying to be funny? Levity is not the mood Kuroo wanted to see right now. Not when everything hurt and his life was spiralling out of control. Red descended over his mind and eyes. He stalked forward; he’d had years of watching and learning how to be angry from his relatives, it coiled in his stomach like an unwanted but well known visitor. Now Daichi walked back. Kuroo’s fists clenched; he both wants to see that but hates it as well. Both fuelled his emotional state.

 

The wall stopped Daichi’s backtrack but Kuroo didn’t stop until there was barely any space between them. His magic lashed out and, before he could stop it, grabbed onto Daichi’s. He was about to pull it back when something made him freeze.

 

Daichi’s magic grabbed back. It curled itself around Kuroo’s jagged darkness magical power, like it felt safe, like it missed it.

Focusing back on the one in front of him, unwilling to think about what that meant he held on to the anger. Except the anger had faded with the touch of Daichi’s magic and now all he felt was hurt.

 

“You avoid me for weeks and suddenly you’re concerned that I’m not in a mood for a party? A bit rich don’t you think?”

 

“Back off Kuroo.” No way, not now. The returning fire in the face before him was more comforting then he wanted to admit at the moment.

 

“No. I finally corner you after weeks of you fleeing at the sight of me, you think I’m gonna let you go that easily?” Not until this was sorted out. He wanted to at least know they were done before he cut himself off completely. Before he gave up all hope.

 

“You’re drunk. Go to bed.” Wrong, Daichi had seen him drunk before. That had been a fun night, very different to the dragon shit this night was turning out to be.

 

“I’m just a little tipsy. You’ve seen me drunk after all.” Kuroo couldn’t help it, the way his voice dropped low. Memories of that night, hands holding him upright, firm muscles under his wandering touch, and a goodnight kiss on the cheek that thankfully he’d been able to recall the next day. Along with a stunned, gawking prefect who looked torn between hexing him on the spot and dragging him back for a proper one.

 

The wrong tone to use apparently. Daichi stiffened, not in the way Kuroo would like to see, and hit his head on the stone wall behind him. Kuroo frowned as the other winced from the pain, another emotion lurking just behind it; want?

 

“Go to bed, don’t talk to me like that and take a glass of water before you go to sleep.” The last of Kuroo’s anger drained away. Even like this the guy was so responsible, even with somehow couldn’t stand the sight of. He resigned himself to being incapable of getting properly furious but Daichi’s words struck him as odd.

 

He liked flirting with Daichi. He’d never complained fervently about it before. Never asked him to stop in the ‘prefect’s voice’ which meant he wanted to be obeyed this instant. He didn’t want to stop flirting with him.

 

So maybe that last bottle was starting to kick in.

 

“I always talk to you like that, you’ve never asked me to stop before.”

 

“I don’t think Bokuto-san would appreciate it.” 

 

…Wait…

 

“What?” What the fuck? Why in…What was he even…How did…

 

“What the hell does Bokuto have to do with anything?” Daichi opened his mouth, to take back the words probably, but Kuroo clamped a hand over it. He needed time to think without concentrating on a conversation. He could feel the solution at the back of his mind. This had to be fixed between them and he may have just been given the key. The alcoholic haze lifting a little as his heart and mind raced to solve the puzzle.

 

Bokuto. Flirting. Not ‘appreciating’. Bokuto. Carriage. Daichi. Escape. Flirting. Not allowed. Touch.

 

Why?

 

Unless…

 

No. That wasn’t possible. It was so ridiculous, so absurd that there was no way…

 

Even as he thought it, his mid hurried to make the connections. Connections which fit. A picture was painted. A lumos was cast. A door unlocked.

 

Daichi thought that he was with Bokuto.

 

 _Daichi_ thought that he had a romantic relationship with _Bokuto._

That was the reason he’d been avoiding him?

 

Because he thought they were together and was…

 

Hell no!

 

He slammed the idiot against the wall, disappointment, frustration, confusion all bubbling over at once.

 

“You moron. Idiotic, couldn’t-see-a-Hippogriff-if-it-landed-on-him, dumbass, nonsensical, goody two shoes, middle-aged, jackass. After everything, you think Bokuto! Years spent together and you still don’t know anything about me.”

 

Over five years of knowing one another and then this.

 

How had Daichi missed it?

 

It hurt.

 

In his befuddled state, all he could focus on was the hurt. Hurt and sad because he thought Daichi had actually seen _him,_ understood _him_ even if he hadn’t liked him.

 

“Six years and you still have no fucking clue.”

 

A pureblood would have cringed at the defeat and rawness in Kuroo’s voice. He was wrung dry. Emotionally spent, he had no clue how to fix this, no idea what step to take. All that he wanted to do was sleep. Defeated by the weeks of inner turmoil he began to move backwards.

 

Daichi kissed him.

 

Right there. Middle of the night almost. In the dungeon corridors. The sounds of partying Slytherin echoing along the stone.

 

Daichi kissed him.

 

Teeth smashed against each other. He could taste blood and his lips were probably as dry as a History of Magic class.

 

It felt incredible.

 

His magic sang.

 

So caught up in his own personal halleluiah moment he nearly didn’t feel Daichi start to move away. He nearly didn’t.

 

His hands snapped up to hold his face and he finally kissed back.

 

Finally. Finally was how it felt. His fingers curled around Daichi’s neck, never wanting to let go. Exhilaration. Joy. Wonder. Relief. From now on this would be his patronus memory, he’d like to see the dementor who stood a chance against the happiness exploding inside his chest.

 

Air

 

Why did air have to be so important? They parted and Kuroo took in a shaky breath, for the first time since term began, unafraid of what would happen next.

 

“I think I like you.” Those words, spoken softly with such fondness and nervousness that Kuroo felt himself melt. He huffed out a puff of air. Daichi wasn’t even looking at him, retreating behind closed eyes. Kuroo resisted the urge to tug him forward into a vice-like hug.

 

“Aren’t you meant to confess before you steal a kiss?” Did he say it wasn’t a time for levity before? It was now. It was stupid how content he felt. Stupid how joyous he felt.

 

“Shut up. At least I did something when I knew.” He sounded so embarrassed and grumbly that Kuroo laughed. Laughed because at their core nothing had really changed and when he focused again a pair of gorgeous brown eyes was staring up at him.

 

“Always so mean.”

 

For the first time in over two years he gave in to the urge to kiss Daichi Sawamura. More magical than he’d even imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the lateness of this drabble. My life has been so hectic and my course is just really intense at the moment. Add to that some writers block and yeah I'm really sorry about this. This was requested by YukiMeister, I'm not entirely sure how it turned out but I needed to get this one done. Huge thank you to everyone who has commented either her or on tumblr. Thank you to everyone who has bookmarked or left a kudos whenever I needed a push I had a look at them to help inspire me. Thank you for all the support!
> 
> Requests are closed.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Tsukiyama for Reyline  
> Future Drabbles: Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request), Gen Ennoshita + background Ennonoya for niniaan (tumblr request), Asanoya for melamelindah (which will be posted separately to the main work + tumblr request), Kagehina - injured! Kageyama for anon (tumblr request), Kagehina - insecure!Hinata for FranRomo, Iwaoi for Mia, Tsukiyama - first kiss for happyhomura (tumblr request), Gen - Suga mediating for Icie, Kurodai + Suga - flustered!Daichi for Csylia, Kagehina or Suga/? for anon (tumblr request), Kagehina - Potions mishap for theblogrunner (tumblr request), Tsukiyama - confession for noodoo, Bokuaka- confession for isumetric (tumblr request), Bokuaka - first meeting + interactions for MacLee, Kagehina - Sick!Hinata for Ko_Sensei, Kuroo +Kenma for blueraven22, Bokuaka - post fight with Kuroo for eve, Bokuaka - injured!Bokuto for Melanie (tumblr request), Kurodai - jealousy for Kiyoshi teppei (tumblr request), Iwaoi - dueling for Haychiex (tumblr request), Kurodai/Bokuaka - double date for cozynoon (tumblr request), Tsukiyama - happy!Yamaguchi for Galaxy Eyes, Bokuaka - injured!Akaashi - natsume nyankosensei (tumblr request), Bokuaka - cuddling for Mindoriiroo, Iwaoi - Post Hogwarts for setosdarkness, Tsukiyama for anon (tumblr request) and Bokuaka - first fight for Syfka.


	22. Tsukiyama - Hot Chocolate

Yamaguchi couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face as the sounds of the younger students, and probably some of his fellow seventh years, playing in the snow filtered through the kitchen windows. It was only early December and yet a snug thick blanket of white had been laid over the castle. There were a few worries about what the weather would be like in January but in general the mood was touched with the childish delight of looking outside at an unblemished sheet of snow. Even some of the professors seemed affected by it; he swore that he’d seen Professor Takeda shaking snow off his robe and hair when he’d come into class grinning that morning.

The house elves bustled around him, one or two offering nods or a friendly wave to their regular guest. He still remembered Suga-san taking him here in his first year; he’d been so panicked about failing a simple spell in his charms that he’d very nearly started to cry. He’d sat himself down in the Hufflepuff common room and tried to stop himself from sniffing. A hand on his shoulder had caused him to yelp and look up into concerned eyes. The kindly third year had taken him to the kitchens and sat him down with a mug of hot chocolate before calmly asking him what was wrong. Since then the kitchens had been one of his favourite havens to retreat to for some peace and quiet. Subsequently it had also become Tsukishima’s as well.

He glanced over at his best friend turned boyfriend, nearly a year together and he still couldn’t believe that he could use that word to describe Tsukki. The Slytherin had brought several books with him and only looked up to take a sip out of his own mug before returning to his studying. Yamaguchi himself had a Potions book open on his lap, an object he was doing his best to ignore in favour of listening to sounds from outside, reminiscing, and taking long sips of his drink. He knew they had N.E.W.T.S this year, he knew this year was incredibly important; he didn’t need Tsukki’s raised eyebrow whenever he started to fidget to tell him that.

Potions was hard. He was much better at Herbology. Although yes, he knew that logic dictated he didn’t need to study Herbology as much as he needed to Potions. That fact was acknowledged and studiously ignored.

Instead he busied himself with re-reading the letter he got this morning. A beautiful little brown owl had dropped a letter in his cereal, aside from a few splashes of milk it had been unmarked by the landing. His eyes flicked over the words once more and felt his smile widen. His old housemates were coming to visit over the Christmas holidays. Apparently Professor Takeda had invited them back to the castle for a few days to see how some of his old students were doing. Amongst them were Daichi-san, Sugawara-san and Asahi-san; the three ex-Hufflepuffs had graduated two years ago and apart from a quick meet up in London over the summer he hadn’t seen them in person for a while. He was really looking forward to catching up with them, as were the rest of Karasuno who were still in Hogwarts.

“Yamaguchi.” The voice cut through his happy contemplations and he jerked upright; eyes wide, cheeks flushed, and holding the letter up in the air. Less catching the kid with his hand in the cookie jar than finding him holding a half-eaten cookie with crumbs on their mouth.

Tsukishima did not look impressed and Yamaguchi fought the urge to swallow nervously. As much as he liked Tsukki, a vast understatement, he still felt nervous when those glasses locked on him. Maybe Tsukishima sensed some of this because he sighed and gestured to his own stack of books.

“I thought you wanted to study?” It was spoken in an attempt of a bland tone but some of his boyfriend’s usual snarkiness snuck in. “Besides I don’t think Professor Irihata will let you slide by with another failed test after you promised to do better.” Yamaguchi couldn’t help the slight wince at the truth of that statement.

“I do really. I-It’s just,” he let out a sigh and slumped back against the wall, “I don’t get Potions. I don’t understand how stirring the Draught of Living Death one time too many causes the cauldron to explode.”

“Technically it would melt it.”

Yamaguchi shot him a look, one he’d seen Suga use many a time with devastating consequences; the unimpressed ‘are-you-seriously-saying-that-right-now’ look. While not quite as effective as the original it did at least cause Tsukishima to cover his mouth before he chuckled. He swore he could hear a few of the house elves tittering as well and huffed out a breath.

“The point is,” he gritted out, though Tsukishima saw more of a pout than a frown on his face, “I don’t understand it and sitting here staring at words for hours isn’t going to help. Believe me I tried that in fourth year and only ended up covering the dungeon in blue goo.”

“That was you? I thought Bokuto had tried to prank Kuroo again. Those two idiots were always doing things like that.”

“Why Tsukki, is that fondness I hear in your voice?” Yamaguchi grinned at the look of unfeigned horror which sprung to the Slytherin’s face.

“No. Don’t even imply it.”

“I’m just saying-”

“No Yamaguchi.”

“I mean there’s nothing wrong with miss-”

“So how are you feeling about that make up text this week Yamaguchi?” Cue despair. The freckled boy dropped his head with a groan. While he was grateful to Irihata for giving him a second chance he doubted that it would make much of a difference. His Potions N.E.W.T. was looking increasingly shaky as the year went on but he needed it if he even wanted to think about a career as a healer.

“I’m doomed.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. You’re not stupid. You’ll pass all your exams which is more than the king will do.2 Insult aside Yamaguchi appreciated Tsukki’s belief that he wouldn’t fail utterly and have his wand snapped in two because he’d managed to dye the dungeon walls an unfashionable shade of magenta.

“Kageyama has improved a lot you know.” He argued back, he’d grown to be friends with the other Slytherin in the group over the years and always felt the urge to at least offer a token defence to some of his boyfriend’s more cutting remarks. Remarks which weren’t nearly as spiteful or bitter as they had been in first year.

“And that still won’t be enough for him to pass his N.E.W.T. in Charms. I honestly don’t know why he took it.”

“I think Hinata told him that he wouldn’t be able to and he took it as a challenge.” Yamaguchi wanted to shudder at the memory, the argument had only lasted a couple of minutes but the ensuing huffing and hurt feelings had lasted for several days. Yamaguchi had found himself playing peacekeeper along with Yachi; running from one pouting boy to the other trying to get them to talk to one another. It had finally ended when Tsukishima had stepped in; he’d berated the two of them for being idiots and forced them to co-operate, if only to yell at him for scolding them. The new Slytherin captain had only huffed, reminded Kageyama not to be late for practice, and dragged Yamaguchi away from the two now yelling at his back. Yamaguchi had squeezed his hand, a silent thank you for solving the mess he’d been dealing with for what felt like weeks, and he was sure that Tsukki had squeezed back.

“That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. Those two would argue about the colour of the sky if they were bored.”

“They suit each other really well.” Yamaguchi’s fingers curled around his drink, the cold from the snow outside permeating the harsh stone walls and seeping into his skin. Honestly, he knew that wizards in general struggled with muggle objects but would it kill them to find out what a radiator was? Or at least find a more efficient way of heating the castle rather than fires which only really helped in one room and not the corridors. The corridors which in winter were so cold he swore one day he would be able to ice skate to class because the floor would be frozen. The Mediwitch would demand heating if only to reduce the number of students arriving in the Hospital Wing due to corridor skating issues.

Tsukishima grunted and took another sip of his drink. “The king better not let it affect his play this term; I plan on holding the cup this year.”

“You know he wouldn’t do that. Quidditch is still the top priority in his mind Hinata’s too.” He shuffled in place, a slightly mutinous tinge to his tone when he speaks again. “Though that still doesn’t mean it’ll be Slytherin who wins y’know.” He turns quickly to the window, hoping his intent stare was taken as his interest in the delicate patterns of frost on the window rather than his nervousness at how Tsukki would react.

“Oh really now?” Yamaguchi could hear the amusement in the words and felt his spine straighten. He may not be as talented a player as some of his friends but he still had his house pride.

“Yes, it’s still too early in the season to tell after all.”

“Hmm, I’ll give you that. But Gryffindor’s still trying to recover from losing Noya, Tanaka, and Yamamoto this year. Ravenclaw lost Ennoshita and a few others. Slytherin’s got the strongest team this year and the school knows it.”

Now, Yamaguchi could clearly see that his boyfriend was teasing him; trying to get a reaction out of him by deliberately excluding a certain house, as if that house wasn’t even worth considering. Yamaguchi knew this, knew that Tsukki was just poking at him hoping for a snap. That did nothing to stop the indignant huff which escaped him and the determined way he swivelled round so that his back was to his irritating companion.

“Oh? Did I say something to upset you?” Definite amusement and it made Yamaguchi’s skin bristle. Yes he knew that Hufflepuff had very little chance of winning the Cup this year but it wasn’t like they had no chance. A slight rustle of movement and Yamaguchi could feel Tsukki moving closer to him. He didn’t need to look to see that pleased smirk dripping with satisfaction that, as usual, he’d been able to rile him up. Yet at the same time he wanted to turn because he also knew that the smirk, more of a smile probably, would be tinged with that fondness which only appeared on Tsukishima’s face when he looked at Yamaguchi. A fondness that still made the seventh year revert to a blushing mess because it still hadn’t fully sunk in that Tsukki liked him that way.

“Y-You know what you did.” Cursing his stutter he tried to slide away from the encroaching snake, although he wasn’t sure if he fully wanted to escape. Their times alone were few and far between with the responsibilities of seventh year weighing down on them, and it had been a couple of weeks since Tsukki had used that tone on him.

“No I’m afraid I don’t. You’ll have to refresh my memory.” A hand, familiar and heavy, landed on his shoulder. Warmth sizzled along his skin; he could feel the hot brand of Tsukishima’s touch, even through the thick material of his winter robe.

“If you c-can’t remember what you did then I’m not g-going to tell you.” Even more familiar, his nervousness when talking back to people unless he was powered by a strong motivation. Tsukishima’s thumb started to rub a circle on his collar bone, warming Yamaguchi much more than the hot chocolate that had been left forgotten by his Potions book.

“Now who’s being mean?”

“Still you!” He was mad at him. He was annoyed at being toyed with, and so easily, by his boyfriend. He was determined not to forgive him until he’d received a proper apology. This was the course of action he’d resolved on.

Then Tsukishima kissed his neck and the only thought in Yamaguchi’s head was the vague observation that his heart beat suddenly sounded like a very big drum in his ear. It was short, light, simple, and Yamaguchi felt like he’d been hit by an entire storm’s worth of lightening.

“Yamaguchi.” A hand on his chin. The gentlest amount of force used to move his head round and Yamaguchi found himself obediently turning around. One look at Tsukishima’s eyes had him gulping; intense, focused, and fond laughter all gleamed within and all directed at him. Him. The seventh year muggleborn Hufflepuff with no particular talent apart from sheer stubbornness. He tried to stop thoughts like that entering his mind but it was diffi-

Tsukishima’s eyes narrowed, as if he could tell what Yamaguchi was thinking, and leaned forward to kiss him. His other palm came up to grasp his ridiculous partner’s neck and pull him closer.

Sparks. Thought-destroying sparks and Yamaguchi relaxed under Tsukishima’s hands. He would still have those thoughts and Tsukishima would still be happy to help distract him from them.

Tsukki’s mouth tasted of chocolate. He hummed at the flavour and let his body be tugged forward.

The hot chocolate and text books remained untouched for some time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter. Several things came up at once including a case of writer's block which has hopefully passed. University work has been intense and I also wanted to do something for kurodai week. I did two short fics for that so please check them out on my profile if you're interested! These two are such a struggle for me to write sometimes and I hope this was worth the wait. It's shorter than usual because i felt like this length was good enough for this drabble. Thank you for all the comments and kudos they really inspire me and fuel my writing, knowing that you guys enjoy my work and look forward to update really helps me. This was requested by Reyline.
> 
> Requests are closed.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request)  
> Future Drabbles: Gen Ennoshita + background Ennonoya for niniaan (tumblr request), Asanoya for melamelindah (which will be posted separately to the main work + tumblr request), Kagehina - injured! Kageyama for anon (tumblr request), Kagehina - insecure!Hinata for FranRomo, Iwaoi for Mia, Tsukiyama - first kiss for happyhomura (tumblr request), Gen - Suga mediating for Icie, Kurodai + Suga - flustered!Daichi for Csylia, Kagehina or Suga/? for anon (tumblr request), Kagehina - Potions mishap for theblogrunner (tumblr request), Tsukiyama - confession for noodoo, Bokuaka- confession for isumetric (tumblr request), Bokuaka - first meeting + interactions for MacLee, Kagehina - Sick!Hinata for Ko_Sensei, Kuroo +Kenma for blueraven22, Bokuaka - post fight with Kuroo for eve, Bokuaka - injured!Bokuto for Melanie (tumblr request), Kurodai - jealousy for Kiyoshi teppei (tumblr request), Iwaoi - dueling for Haychiex (tumblr request), Kurodai/Bokuaka - double date for cozynoon (tumblr request), Tsukiyama - happy!Yamaguchi for Galaxy Eyes, Bokuaka - injured!Akaashi - natsume nyankosensei (tumblr request), Bokuaka - cuddling for Mindoriiroo, Iwaoi - Post Hogwarts for setosdarkness, Tsukiyama for anon (tumblr request) and Bokuaka - first fight for Syfka.


	23. Kurodai - Potions

If asked during breakfast how he thought his day would pan out Tetsurou Kuroo would have answered with a shrug. It wasn’t a special day of any sort. He had Transfiguration in the afternoon which always meant a little trouble and Charms could always be counted on for some chaos but other than that nothing out of the ordinary was supposed to happen. A normal day as one could ever hope to have at Hogwarts.

 

The sixth year also intended to spend most of his free period flirting/annoying his boyfriend of four months and hopefully drag him away for some alone time during lunch. He’d only been able to snatch a few moments with Daichi recently due to the Head Boy being struck down by a weak strain of Dragon Pox. He was fine, just quarantined in the Hospital Wing, and according to all reports extremely grumpy about missing out on the Valentine’s Day feast. No the truly deplorably thing about the whole situation was that Daichi, being the upstanding responsible prefect that he was, had taken on the bulk of his ill upperclassman’s work.

 

Kuroo knew why. The whole school knew that Daichi would be Head Boy next year. This would be good practice for him and would let the teachers see how he handled the pressure.

 

That didn’t stop him from sulking when he hadn’t been able to cuddle his favourite Hufflepuff in the past week, or make him blush that lovely shade of red, or see gorgeous brown eyes widen in surprise, or kiss him in the back of the library, or the Quidditch changing rooms, or in the Astronomy Tower….

 

Ok so _maybe_ there was something to Bokuto’s theory of boyfriend-withdrawal but come on! Four months was being put up against up to three years of pining and Kuroo still had issues believing that this was real. Being able to touch Daichi whenever he wanted was still so achingly new and fragile to him, true Daichi might not always appreciate it in certain situations but he was still allowed to.

 

But other than an alarming lack of time with Daichi which he hoped to remedy the day was meant to be normal. No plans for trouble with his best friend. No prank war. No team issues to solve. Normal.

 

So it was quite a shock when that afternoon all his ideas of a normal day were hit with a full strength Blasting Curse. Not a whimpy I’m-just-doing-this-for-an-exam Blasting Curse either a full strength Bokuto-when-if-he-finds-out-about-how-the-dragons-are-treated-at-Gringotts level Blasting Curse.

 

An accident during the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw Potions class + Daichi pulling a nearby student out the way + Kuroo waiting outside to surprise his boyfriend = (somehow) Kuroo being knocked to the floor by his boyfriend who was currently wrapped around him and humming contentedly as he buried his head into Kuroo’s chest.

 

“Uhhh Daichi?” He sent a concerned look to the dark blue smoke wafting out of the doorway but felt his arms reciprocate the hug. Daichi let out a sigh and started to nuzzle against him.

 

“Yeah Tetsurou?” Kuroo very nearly choked at that. Had he heard right? Daichi hardly ever used his first name, only when they were in private and accompanied by a lot of blushing and stuttering. He didn’t say it in public sounding unashamedly sleepy and content. Kuroo felt his own cheeks start to redden at the adorable picture his boyfriend made.

 

It was so tempting to just pick him up and leave. The happy sigh replaying in his head and when was the last time Daichi had been so relaxed around him? But the blue smoke lingered and concern was growing larger than his not inconsiderable desire for Daichi’s presence.

 

Suga appeared next, all waving arms and chesty coughs, and stopped to blink at the pair on the floor. A look of realisation dawned followed swiftly by amusement and Kuroo got the feeling that he was the butt of some cosmic joke.

 

“Suga, not that I’m complaining or anything but, why is Daichi on top of me like doing a pretty good impression of my cat?” Suga’s lip twitched but when he spoke it was in an even tone.

 

“Sorry about that Kuroo. There was a little uh, mishap in class. We had to brew a Dream potion I think? Anyway Asahi was having a couple of issues, some sort of root got thrown in and an eyeball from something else. There was fizzing, a cauldron may have ruptured and Daichi got splashed by whatever was in it.”

 

Kuroo frowned. Dreams potions messed with the mind. Concern was starting to bubble over into full blown worry. No matter how cute Daichi looked at the moment he had to take him to the Hospital Wing. This proved a little difficult when Daichi refused to let go of him, only clinging tighter and whining when any attempt was made to remove him. Suga actually snickered at this and Kuroo’s usual disapproving and slightly irritated glare, or glare 2, lost its effectiveness when he had a happy cuddly Daichi in his lap.

 

20 minutes and one awkward trip to the Mediwitch later he felt a little bit more relaxed. The potion accident hadn’t done anything too dangerous; it induced drowsiness and dulled reflexes, the person would feel more inclined to act on whims, and they wouldn’t want to move much.

 

All good so far.

 

It should wear off in an hour or so.

 

Even better.

 

As much as Kuroo enjoyed happy cuddly Daichi he’d rather it not be the result of a botched potion.

 

The downside.

 

Daichi still hadn’t let Kuroo go. It had been one of the most embarrassing situations he’d ever got into at Hogwarts and that was including getting caught skinny dipping in the lake with Bokuto by the entire fourth year Care of Magical Creature’s class. Saeko-san had been grinning as she ran the diagnostic spell, a knowing glint in her eye that assure Kuroo that this would come up during the next staff meeting. He hadn’t been able to do anything more than shrug, too afraid of jostling the patient and hope that Daichi’s proximity didn’t uh affect him too much. A warm squirmy boyfriend after weeks of limited contact could make life very awkward for him.

 

Thankfully his overriding worry over the situation prevented any incidents.

 

Daichi hadn’t let him go after the check-up either. The strong grip around his waist hadn’t lessened and he’d been subjected to a devastating pout when he’s tried to slide out.

 

“Are you trying to leave me?”

 

“What? No of course not don’t be silly.” If Daichi had been in his right mind the fake laugh which followed would have been met with an extremely unimpressed look.

 

“Good because I’ve missed you.” Kuroo froze and looked down. Daichi wasn’t looking at him but there was a light growing in his eyes slowly replacing the glazed look from the potion.

 

“Y-You have?” His heart was beating in his ears and he was infinitely grateful for the screen curtain that shielded the pair of them from view.

 

“Uhhuh, I never get to see you anymore. Always so busy.” He wriggled deeper into Kuroo’s chest and his ears were turning a telltale red. “Thought having you as a boyfriend meant I got to see you more.”

 

This. This was not the right place to talk about this.

 

“Ah and here’s me thinking you might use it to see me less.” The joke was poor even by his standards. Daichi thumped him.

 

“Mmh I like seeing you. Like being with you.” Shit. He and thought he was red before. “Like touching you.” Ok surely he was imagining the smirk right? Kuroo coughed and wondered if he was really the one who had been hit with the potion.

 

“Good! Great!” His voice was reaching new heights and his neck was burning. “Because you know…I do too.” Daichi murmured a sleepy affirmative. “Probably more than you know.”

 

Now Daichi moved. He pushed himself up and looked at Kuroo, a faint frown creasing his forehead.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“It’s nothing don-”

 

“You think you like me more than I like you?”

 

“Well isn’t someone surprisingly lucid for-”

 

“I can’t focus whenever you smile.” Kuroo shut up. “When you really smile, it’s just so amazing to see. Dislodges everything else from my head. Your hair is a nightmare but I love to play with it, loves the way it makes you go all soft and pliant. Why’d you have to be so stupidly tall? It’s not fair and I hate that I’m attracted to it.”

 

What was breathing again?

 

“No-one should look that good in Quidditch robes and be that secretly kind and sweet.”

 

“I am no-”

 

“I’ve seen you helping the younger years out, stopping bullies and giving them hell for all the prejudiced shit that goes on here. You run tutor sessions for your housemates and the one reason you didn’t accept the prefect position was because you knew how much more it meant to someone else.” Daichi resumed his first position with a satisfied hum. “Even that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

 

“Don’t assume because you liked me longer that you like me more. Believe me, fifth year was a nightmare because of you.”

 

Kuroo ran a hand through Daichi’s hair in, if it trembled neither of them said anything.

 

“Y-Yeah, ok.”

 

“Good now start cuddling me again. We’ve got an hour until next class.”

 

Kuroo happily obeyed; a new feeling of security enveloping him as he brushed his lips across Daichi’s forehead.

 

Not a normal day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay. My life has been very hectic and unplanned recently and just circumstances which sucked out all my desire to write. I know this wasn't what I said would be next but I wanted to update something and kurodai is always fun for me to write. I don't know when I'll be able to update again but it should not be as long as this time. 
> 
> Requests are closed.
> 
> NEXT DRABBLE: Sugayaku - Experimenting for cozynoon (tumblr request)  
> Future Drabbles: Gen Ennoshita + background Ennonoya for niniaan (tumblr request), Asanoya for melamelindah (tumblr request), Kagehina - injured! Kageyama for anon (tumblr request), Kagehina - insecure!Hinata for FranRomo, Iwaoi for Mia, Tsukiyama - first kiss for happyhomura (tumblr request), Gen - Suga mediating for Icie, Kurodai + Suga - flustered!Daichi for Csylia, Kagehina or Suga/? for anon (tumblr request), Kagehina - Potions mishap for theblogrunner (tumblr request), Tsukiyama - confession for noodoo, Bokuaka- confession for isumetric (tumblr request), Bokuaka - first meeting + interactions for MacLee, Kagehina - Sick!Hinata for Ko_Sensei, Kuroo +Kenma for blueraven22, Bokuaka - post fight with Kuroo for eve, Bokuaka - injured!Bokuto for Melanie (tumblr request), Kurodai - jealousy for Kiyoshi teppei (tumblr request), Iwaoi - dueling for Haychiex (tumblr request), Kurodai/Bokuaka - double date for cozynoon (tumblr request), Tsukiyama - happy!Yamaguchi for Galaxy Eyes, Bokuaka - injured!Akaashi - natsume nyankosensei (tumblr request), Bokuaka - cuddling for Mindoriiroo, Iwaoi - Post Hogwarts for setosdarkness, Tsukiyama for anon (tumblr request) and Bokuaka - first fight for Syfka.


	24. Kyouhaba - Bad Day

Kentarou Kyoutani is not happy. Granted he’s not a particularly happy person but today he is really not happy. The reason? It’s a full moon tonight and Kyoutani is a werewolf. Yep, sad, tragic, bitten when he was only 4 years old, poor boy has been hampered for life yadayadayada he’s heard it all before and it’s really wearing thin now.

 

He can feel it itching under his skin the whole day and he is only just able to make it through his morning classes. Transfiguration is a mess and he ends up turning his quill into a snake, not great when he was supposed to transform a sword into a fish. Professor Takeda had been cool about it but he’d been able to feel the eyes of his classmates on him, hear the badly concealed sniggers and whispers and he’d come within a hairsbreadth of turning around and….

 

Charms and Potions hadn’t been much better. One exploded cauldron later he trudged out of the dungeons robes smelling of newt piss and a face that could have easily frightened a boggart. The free period after lunch is a welcome reprisal and he quickly detaches himself from the throng of hungry students heading for the main hall.

 

Ugh. The smell really is awful and it makes his nose burn. Stupid fucking oversensitive nose. As if he needed to feel more uncomfortable in his skin. A first year nearly tottering under the weight of the tower of books he’s holding takes one look at him and eeps before attempting to scurry out of his way. A snarl starts to build in his throat but he reaches out to push the book tower back up before it collapses on the midget.

 

Under his robes his muscles are starting to cramp and tighten. Tonight is looking up to be painful and he does not have time for this shit.

 

“Hey Kyoutani!”

 

Nope. He does not have time for any of this today. Footsteps thunder in his ears and he bites back a wince. It would be so much easier if he could just turn around and growl at the guy but Shinji Watari is actually one of the few students that he can stand to be around for any length of time.

 

That still doesn’t stop him from turning around with a scowl on his face. Tolerable or not all he wants to do is have a shower, ditch the rest of his classes, take his potion and lock himself in his usual room.

 

Watari is irritatingly unperturbed by his scowl and approaches him with a wide open grin that immediately feels suspicious. He doesn’t care if the robes are yellow there is a cunning sneak in Watari that is frankly criminal to not be in Slytherin. Watari shows no sign that he’s noticed Kyoutani’s glare and instead nods as if he’s just been greeted with a friendly wave; then again an angry glare is Kyoutani’s preferred form of greeting.

 

“Are you not coming to lunch?”

 

“No.” Short. Simple. Done. He’s about to carry on walking when Watari is suddenly there in front of him, smile dropping and looking disappointed in a way that absolutely does not make him feel guilty.

 

“Oh why not? Yahaba and I were hoping you’d join us today.”

 

Now even within the magical world there are impossibilities; love potions that create lasting sustainable feelings, traveling forward in time, purebloods realising that further inter-marriage wasn’t going to help the rising number of squib births etc. The chance of Shigeru Yahaba hoping that Kyoutani would join him for lunch was at the very top of that list. All those other things could come true and he’d still not believe it.

 

Hell, he’d sooner believe that a cure for the werewolf curse had been discovered.

 

Which it’s why it’s utterly confusing that he can’t sense a lie. No change in heartbeat, direct eye contact, no change in scent, no over the top smile, nothing. It’s almost like he’s telling the truth.

 

A group of younger students pass by and Kyoutani snaps out of his shock.

 

“Still no.” He purposefully steps around Watari and begins to carry on walking. Or at least he would have if something hadn’t tugged sharply at his conscience. It sounds like his mother. “Thanks for asking.” He mumbles out and before Watari takes the opportunity to invite him another time he’s halfway down the hall.

 

Watari’s hand drops to his side and something dangerously reminiscent to a pout appears on his face; Yahaba was not going to like this.

 

Sitting in clean robes with a cup of orange juice in his hands does wonders for his mood. Sure his legs are starting to screech at him, he has an arithmancy essay due tomorrow and he knows Sawamura is out for his blood after terrifying some second years in the library but he no longer smells as bad as Hippogriff shit and the common room is blessedly empty.

 

Usually he doesn’t like it; too many people, too much noise, stuffy, too many scents and always so cheerful, but if he’s here alone then it’s not so bad. Well nearly alone he thinks as his eyes drift over to the small form hunched up on the big sofa.

 

Yamaguchi had stopped at the doorway when he’d laid eyes on him at first but after an impressively short time he’d managed a, slightly sick-looking, smile and moved to sit down. He’d been to the owlery if the tawny feathers sticking to his robe were any clue and the two had proceeded to sit in semi-comfortable silence for the next half an hour.

 

He should be thinking about tonight, about the essay, about keeping an eye out for Sawamura to avoid the prefect’s ire, about the wolf growing stronger and stronger under his skin.

 

Instead he’s only thinking about Watari and that stupid invitation.

 

_Oh why not? Yahaba and I were hoping you’d join us today._

_Yahaba and I were hoping you’d join us today._

_Yahaba….hoping you’d join us today._

Stupid.

 

So what if they’d kinda been getting along better than usual? They still fought over every single thing. The Slytherin still jumped at the chance to criticise his wand work. He still found his temperature snapping more quickly than normal with Yahaba than any other student.

 

Nothing had changed.

 

**How do you know that? You turned down the chance to find out.**

Because one lunch could change anything.

 

**Right and one conversation where he ended pushing you up against the wall didn’t change _anything._**

****

Not today. He couldn’t deal with it today.

 

**And that doesn’t sound like the most obvious excuse after gnomes stole my homework.**

Because his pre-transformation state was much more rational and calm than his usual self.

 

**And it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re absolutely terrified to even admit the possibility that you li-**

The glass shatters in his hand and Yamaguchi yelps. Kyoutani stares blankly at his hand a couple of glass shards have pierced his skin and his blood starts to drip onto the floor.

 

He didn’t want to think about that today either. The pain helps focus his mind and he scowls at the stinging.

 

“Oh my god! Are you ok?” When did Yamaguchi come over. The fourth year is fluttering around his hand looking torn between running to get some help and staying to make sure he didn’t collapse from blood loss.

 

“It’s alright m’fine.”

 

“B-But Kyoutani that looks bad.” His hand is kind of a mess but it looks worse than it feels, he’s had worse.

 

“Doesn’t hurt.” A small lie but the kid looks like he might faint and carrying him to the Hospital Wing with a bloody hand won’t exactly help his reputation.

 

That actually earns him a frown and it might have made Kyoutani smile if he hadn’t been having a shitty day and if the kid didn’t look a tiny bit intimidating when he did.

 

“Kyoutani you need to go to the Hospital Wing. What if it gets infected or something?” It takes one quick look-over to see that the kid is serious about it and he’s not in the mood to fight. Not when the itching under his skin is worsening and he can feel his canines sharpening.

 

The grunt of agreement seems to be enough and the next thing he knows he’s on his way to the Hospital Wing with his housemate by his side. Yamaguchi was apparently a half blood whose muggle mother knew a couple of things about first aid. Kyoutani wasn’t sure if he was one of the students who knew about his monthly condition or not so he held back on mentioning his increased healing rate, especially when there was going to be a full moon.

 

If he did know the kid didn’t seem to be bothered which was a nice change. If he didn’t know Kyoutani was not in the mood to see the usual mix of fear/anger/distrust/disgust on his face.

 

The stinging is already easing off and his main concern is picking the shards of glass out before they’re healed into his skin.

 

“Kyoutani?!”

 

Fuck.

 

It’s almost as if someone has cast a full body bind on him. He doesn’t need to turn around to know who’s standing there.

 

“Ah!” The pure relief in Yamaguchi’s tone is in exact opposite to the panic bubbling in his gut. “You’re a prefect right?” Kyoutani would scoff if he wasn’t so horrified, the guy didn’t go anywhere without his badge since he’d gotten the damn thing.

 

“Yeah. What happened and-” a sharp inhale. He’s come closer and Kyoutani still can’t make himself turn around. “Merlin what happened to your hand?”

 

A direct question manages to kick-start his brain. He turns with a glare, that he knows will be ignored, and sure enough Yahaba is standing there staring at his hand.

 

“He bro-”

 

“It’s nothing.” He barks out switching his glare to Yamaguchi who thankfully doesn’t correct him. Obviously this wasn’t going to be satisfactory for the ‘dutiful’ prefect.

 

“How can you say it’s nothing? There’s glass _in_ your hand. You’re bleeding.”

 

“It doesn’t hurt.”

 

“I don’t care you need to get that seen to.”

 

“Where do you think I was going genius?” All this earns him a scoff.

 

“I don’t know, the groundskeeper’s house, the dungeons, the quidditch pitch, the lake, maybe even Hogsmeade.” Irritation, frustration and a tangled mess of something else run wild in his head. The wolf is stirring.

 

He grits his teeth and tries to exercise some control. “Well I’m going to the Hospital Wing so you can leave now.” Determined to leave he turns to go but then Yahaba grabs his arm.

 

Always. It’s always Yahaba who touches him.

 

“Hey.” Softer this time, something gentle in the grip on his bicep. Hating himself for it he turns to look Yahaba in the eye.

 

Stupid pretty face. Stupid hair.

 

Kyoutani is so stupid.

 

The clock strikes the hour and Yamaguchi pipes up. “Um are you alright to take him then? It’s just that I have Divination next and I uh…”

 

“I’ll take him there don’t worry.” Yahaba smiles kindly, asshole, and Yamaguchi looks relieved.

 

“I hope you feel better soon Kyoutani.” He says before turning to run back down the hall. Despite the situation Kyoutani can’t help but feel a little touched that the kid was willing to be late to class for him. He’ll have to pay him back somehow, even if it has led to the meeting that he’d been trying to avoid all the day.

 

The silence that falls upon them afterwards is tense as usual but also strained too as if they’re both holding back something. Yahaba glances at him before pushing him forward with his hand.

 

“C’mon, let’s get you there before those heal up.” Kyoutani lets himself be pushed forward, trying desperately to ignore the warmth of Yahaba’s hand on his back. “Why do you smell like oranges?”

 

“Don’t ask. Please.” Yahaba actually stops at that before resuming his place at Kyoutani’s side. He’s mulling over something in his head and Kyoutani most certainly does not admire the way he looks in the sunlight from the windows.

 

“That bad of a day?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

It’s quiet and there’s no-one else in the hallway but he’s more on edge than he has been all day.

 

“It’s a full moon tonight right?” He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes trusting that Yahaba doesn’t dislike him enough to let him walk into a wall.

 

“Yep.” He’s going to be in a bad mood tomorrow as well his body always feels like it’s been hit by 15 bludgers afterwards.

 

A hoot from outside causes him to open his eyes and take a look. A beautiful white owl is soaring towards the great hall. He wonders if it’ll be in the owlery tomorrow so he can get a closer look.

 

“I’ll make sure to save you some breakfast then.”

 

What?

 

“What?” He asks. Is he just imagining things or are the tops of Yahaba’s ears going pink?

 

“Well you always miss it right? You never show up the day after until 10 O’clock when classes are going on. So…I’ll save you some alright?” Kyoutani’s face must have reverted to its standard scowl mode because Yahaba immediately goes on the defensive. “What’s that look for? If you don’t want to that’s fine, I just thought it would be nice to not have you complaining about hungry you are in Herbology. I won’t bother if you don’t want me to-”

 

“No!” Great, that doesn’t sound too eager at all. “I mean it’s cool. You can…do that if you want to. I don’t want to mess up your Herbology lesson.”

 

“Hey Herbology is important!”

 

“Right and Watari isn’t planning to take over the school.”

 

“Not all of us are going to be creature researchers when we grow up like you and Bokuto. Plus I’m sure Watari has his eyes set on the whole country not just the school.”

 

Kyoutani snorts and gives his hand a flick. Damn, they need to hurry or the mediwitch will have to reopen the cuts. But he takes another look at his companion, maybe they can walk for a little longer.

 

“I don’t want to hear that from the guy who thought it was a good idea to try and spice up a Flobberworm’s diet.”

 

“That was in third year!” There’s a smile on Yahaba’s face despite the wounded tone and Kyoutani feels one threatening to spread on his own face.

 

So maybe it wasn’t a completely terrible day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I can say is that I'm sorry for the wait. My life has been very up and down lately and please believe I have wanted to get this out for a while now. I'm still not familiar with writing these two yet but I do love them and hope I've done them justice.
> 
> Regarding requests; I found myself stagnating and struggling with writers block so what I think I'm going to do is put them to the side for the moment. If there's one that really fires my inspiration I'll do it but for now I'm going to write what comes to mind. The series is far from over and I have several ideas I want to explore.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Your hands (protect the flames)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2078574) by [lilaevolet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilaevolet/pseuds/lilaevolet)




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